STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1331

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 168

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 168, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEMORIALS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to honor the legacy of the veterans of the State who have served in recent conflicts in the Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the various conflicts of the Global War on Terrorism.

 

     Specifically, this measure appropriates funds for the planning and design of a memorial to honor service members of these conflicts, to be located at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe on the Island of Oahu, with replicas of the memorial to be located at state veterans cemeteries statewide.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and the State Office of Veterans' Services.

 

     Your Committee recognizes the importance of honoring service members from the State who have dutifully served to protect the freedom and liberties of their fellow citizezns.  Your Committee notes that the task force convened by the Office of Veterans' Services in response to Act 138, Session Laws of Hawaii 2013, recommended that a memorial be dedicated at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe, Oahu, to honor service members who served in the Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the various theaters of the Global War on Terrorism.  The task force further recommended that replicas of this memorial be located at state veterans cemeteries statewide.  This measure appropriates funds to begin implementing the task force's plan.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing its effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 168, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 168, H.D. 1, S.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair