STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1763

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 340

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts, to which was referred H.B. No. 340, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BROTHER JOSEPH DUTTON DAY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to designate April 27 of each year as Brother Joseph Dutton Day.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Accounting and General Services, Joseph Dutton Guild, Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, and five individuals.

Your Committee finds that interest in the history of Kalaupapa has seen a strong resurgence after generations of disinterest and neglect. Following an order by King Kamehameha V, Kalaupapa Peninsula on the island of Molokai became a designated site for Hansen's disease patients. Many residents exiled were disproportionately Native Hawaiian, with a peak of one thousand two hundred residents. Caregivers who preserve Kalaupapa and its history bring a sense of humanity back to the residents who were exiled to live out the remainder of their lives in Kalaupapa and courageous volunteers who risked their own lives to bring comfort and care to the population there.

Your Committee additionally finds that Brother Joseph Dutton, born Ira Barnes Dutton, served in the Union Army during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Following the Civil War, Dutton suffered from a failed marriage, alcoholism, probable post-traumatic stress disorder, and other personal problems. Vowing to reform his life, Dutton learned about the work of Father Damien and arrived at Kalaupapa in 1886 to dedicate the rest of his life in service to the patients there. Following the death of Father Damien, Dutton managed the Baldwin Home for Boys, an institution that, by 1926, cared for 1,376 boys and men. After forty-four years of dedicated service, as Dutton had never left Kalaupapa after his arrival in 1886, Dutton passed away in 1931.

Your Committee further finds that honoring Brother Joseph Dutton's work at Kalaupapa not only recognizes his invaluable sacrifice, but also allows the story and history of Kalaupapa to remain alive for future generations. As history is a dialogue between the past and present, this measure recognizes April 27 of each year as Brother Joseph Dutton Day to honor Dutton's work and the history of Kalaupapa.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of June 30, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 340, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 340, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

________________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair