STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2660

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2477

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2477 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CULTURAL RECOGNITION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Department of Land and Natural Resources to place historical markers acknowledging the landform on which the Hawaii Kai Town Center is sited as Maunalua Island.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committee finds that the identification and documentation of historic properties is a significant part of the State's historic preservation program. Your Committee consequently finds value in placing markers in locations of historic significance, such as Maunalua Island. This measure will further the enrichment of citizens and visitors alike by identifying, educating, and interpreting the historic legacy of Maunalua Island through the use of historical markers.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language that requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources to consult with the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts to standardize the design of the historical markers, to include but not be limited to a historical narrative explanation of Maunalua Island;

(2) Inserting language that requires any costs and expenditures arising from the placement of the historical markers to be paid by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts;

(3) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(4) 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 Water, Land, Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2477, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2477, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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CHRIS LEE, Chair