STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1353-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 3007

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Culture & Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 3007, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CULTURE AND ARTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Establish the Office of Community Culture and Innovation within the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts;

(2) Establish the Community and Cultural Partnership Program;

(3) Appropriate funds for the establishment of the Office of Community Culture and Innovation, including for staff and other expenses; and

(4) Appropriate funds out of the Works of Art Special Fund for the preservation and relocation of works of art from Aloha Stadium.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu; PlayBuilders of Hawaii Theater Company; Stanford Carr Development, LLC; and four individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from HULI PAC; HŌʻĀ – Hawaiʻi Open Arts; Hilo Community Players; and eight individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General; State Foundation on Culture and the Arts; Chamber of Sustainable Commerce; Hawaiʻi Arts Alliance; and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that while the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts plays an important role in promoting and preserving culture and the arts in Hawaii, the State has yet to fully integrate culture, arts, and history into community planning, infrastructure, and development in a comprehensive and innovative manner. Your Committee further finds that other jurisdictions have successfully leveraged creative placemaking and cultural integration strategies to enhance public spaces, strengthen community identity, and improve overall quality of life. By establishing the Office of Community Culture and Innovation to identify best practices, support state agencies, and implement innovative, community-based cultural initiatives, this measure will help build more vibrant, inclusive, and resilient communities throughout the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Establishing the Office of Community Culture and Innovation within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, rather than the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts;

(2) Requiring the Office to:

(A) Ensure communication with the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts; and

(B) Adopt rules;

(3) Clarifying the term "living cultural tourism zone";

(4) Clarifying provisions related to the Community and Cultural Partnership Program's draft of the strategic economic and physical revitalization design implementation plan, making it a statewide plan with proposed projects starting with the Honolulu Chinatown area;

(5) Deleting language that would have appropriated funds out of the Works of Art Special Fund for the preservation and relocation of works of art from Aloha Stadium; and

(6) 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 that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3007, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3007, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Culture & Arts,

____________________________

JEANNE KAPELA, Chair