STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3408

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    GOV. MSG. NOS. 570, 571

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred Governor's Message Nos. 570 and 571, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

 

Island Burial Council, Island of Moloka'i

 

G.M. No. 570

NILES SOARES,

for a term to expire 06-30-2018; and

 

G.M. No. 571

NILES SOARES,

for a term to expire 06-30-2022,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by Niles Soares for service on the Island Burial Council, Island of Moloka‘i.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nominations for the appointment and reappointment of Niles Soares from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Ho‘omana Pono, LLC.

 

     Mr. Soares was born and raised on the island of Moloka‘i and is of part Native Hawaiian ancestry.  His ancestors have been in Moloka‘i for generations, with his great grandparents being one of the first applicants to receive Hawaiian homestead land in Kalama‘ula and Ho‘olehua.  Mr. Soares has experience as a conservationist on Moloka‘i, with years of experience working and interning for The Nature Conservancy for Moloka‘i programs, and is currently a Field Associate for the Moloka‘i/Maui Invasive Species Committee.  He is also the lead genealogist responsible for maintaining his family's history in Moloka‘i.  Your Committee finds that Mr. Soares is eager to learn the legal and cultural protocol of working with iwi kupuna and believes he will be a good representative for the island of Moloka‘i on the Island Burial Council with his extensive history on the island.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs,

 

 

 

____________________________

MAILE S.L. SHIMABUKURO, Chair