STAND. COM. REP. NO. 251-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: H.B. No. 1861

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Culture, Arts, & International Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1861 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NUMBER PLATES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Require license plates issued on or after January 1, 2025, to include an ʻokina in the word Hawaiʻi; and

(2) Authorize the use of all uppercase letters, all lowercase letters, or initial capital letters in license plates.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the City and County of Honolulu Department of Customer Services and one individual.

Your Committee finds that the correct spelling of Hawaiʻi includes an ʻokina. This measure would ensure that the word Hawaiʻi is correctly spelled on state license plates, in support of the ongoing effort to expand the use of Hawaiian diacritical marks in other areas of government and in government records.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion.

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 H.B. No. 1861, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1861, 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,

____________________________

ADRIAN K. TAM, Chair