STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2700

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2059

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2059 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STATE SYMBOLS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to designate the ‘ōhi‘a lehua as the State endemic tree to recognize its cultural and ecological importance and raise awareness of the critical threats the plant species is currently facing, with the hope that it will lead to effective conservation and healthy growth of ‘ōhi‘a forests across the Hawaiian Islands.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Ko‘olau Waialua Alliance, Kua‘āina Ulu ‘Auamo, Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death Statewide Outreach, and three hundred forty-five individuals.

Your Committee finds that the ‘ōhi‘a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) is a flowering evergreen that is an endemic plant species found only in the Hawaiian Islands that has unique cultural, ecological, and economic value to the people of Hawaii. Your Committee also finds that the existence of the ‘ōhi‘a is currently under threat, including from diseases such as a fungal pathogen called rapid ‘ōhi‘a death. Your Committee believes that this measure will not only allow the people of Hawaii to recognize the ‘ōhi‘a lehua's cultural and ecological importance to the State, but also raise awareness of the critical threats the endemic plant species is currently facing and prompt effective conservation and expansion of its habitat in the State.

Your Committee notes that S.B. No. 2520 (Regular Session of 2022) is a similar measure that includes valuable information regarding the history and significance of the ‘ōhi‘a lehua. Your Committee therefore believes this measure should incorporate such information.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Amending section 1 to incorporate the information in S.B. No. 2520 (Regular Session of 2022) on the history and significance of the ‘ōhi‘a lehua; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2059, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2059, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts,

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BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair