STAND. COM. REP. NO. 334-16
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2016
RE: H.B. No. 1736
Honorable Joseph M. Souki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Eighth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2016
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 1736 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE KONA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to honor the memory and legacy of Ellison Onizuka by renaming the Kona International Airport at Keahole to the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole.
Ellison Onizuka, the first Japanese American selected to participate in America’s space program and the first Asian astronaut to venture into space, was born on the island of Hawaii. While best known as Hawaii's first astronaut, Ellison Onizuka also served in the United States Air Force where he used his education in aerospace engineering to participate in flight test programs and systems safety engineering for numerous aircraft before ultimately being selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978. Tragically, Ellison Onizuka, along with six other individuals, perished as the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Your Committee finds that renaming the Kona International Airport to the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport is a fitting tribute that will serve to honor the memory and legacy of a beloved and treasured keiki o ka aina.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1736 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,
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____________________________ HENRY J.C. AQUINO, Chair |
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