STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 1051
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2021
RE: S.B. No. 697
S.D. 1
H.D. 1
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2021
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Culture, Arts, & International Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 697, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO KALAUPAPA MONTH,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to designate January of each year as "Kalaupapa Month" to serve as an annual reminder of the importance of Kalaupapa and the significant sacrifices and contributions of its residents throughout the State's history.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa, IDEA Center for the Voices of Humanity, The Friends of Iolani Palace, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation, Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii Diocese of Honolulu, eleven individuals, and a letter signed by five individuals.
Your Committee finds
that in 1865, the Kingdom of Hawaii passed "An Act to Prevent the Spread
of Leprosy" and, over time, forcibly removed an estimated eight thousand
individuals suspected of having leprosy to a colony established on eight
hundred acres of land on the Kalaupapa peninsula of Moloka‘i. Your Committee further finds that many
important events in the history of Kalaupapa occurred in January: the first
twelve inhabitants of the Kalaupapa colony arrived on January 6, 1866; the last
of the original inhabitants of Kalaupapa were evicted in January of 1895; Jozef
De Veuster, also known as Father Damien and canonized by the Catholic Church as
Saint Damien of Moloka‘i in recognition of his work in ministering
to the people of Kalaupapa, was born on January 3, 1840; and Barbara Koob, known
today as Saint Marianne, who worked tirelessly for thirty years in Kalaupapa as
the supervisor of the Bishop Home for Single Women and Girls, was born on
January 23, 1838. This measure
recognizes the contributions and sacrifices of the residents of Kalaupapa by establishing
January of each year as "Kalaupapa Month".
Your Committee has
amended this measure by:
(1) Amending the preamble to more accurately reflect the contributions and history of the residents of Kalaupapa; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Culture, Arts, & International Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 697, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 697, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Culture, Arts, & International Affairs,
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____________________________ CEDRIC ASUEGA GATES, Chair |
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