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,

____________________________

CEDRIC ASUEGA GATES, Chair