Bill Text: HI HCR127 | 2021 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requesting The Hawaii Sister-state Committee To Evaluate And Develop Recommendations For The Initiation Of A Sister State Relationship Between The State Of Hawaii And The Prefecture Of Yamaguchi, Japan, And Forward Its Recommendation To The Legislature, Pursuant To Section 2293, Hawaii Revised Statutes, For Further Action.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-04-01 - Referred to LCA. [HCR127 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2021-HCR127-Amended.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
127 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE HAWAII SISTER-STATE COMMITTEE TO EVALUATE AND DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE INITIATION OF A SISTER STATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STATE OF HAWAII AND THE PREFECTURE OF YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN, AND FORWARD ITS RECOMMENDATION TO THE LEGISLATURE, PURSUANT TO SECTION 229‑3, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES, FOR FURTHER ACTION.
WHEREAS, Hawaii has developed and maintained a rich heritage of international relations and cultural exchange since the days of the Hawaiian monarchy in the nineteenth century; and
WHEREAS, since 1981, the Legislature has instituted sister-state relationships as a means of asserting and promoting the State's active participation in international matters; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii currently maintains eighteen sister-state relationships, including relationships with five of Japan's forty-seven prefectures; and
WHEREAS, Yamaguchi is a prefecture in Japan's Chugoku region on the southwest side of Honshu Island; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii and the people of Yamaguchi share a long history and strong bond, beginning with kanyaku imin and the immigration of 10,424 contract laborers to Hawaii between 1885 and 1894; and
WHEREAS, since then, there have been continuous cultural exchanges between the people of Yamaguchi and the five Yamaguchi Kenjinkai groups in Hawaii over the years; and
WHEREAS, other exchanges include annual fisheries training off the coast of Hawaii by a Yamaguchi high school, the arrival of tour groups from Yamaguchi, and study abroad and academic exchanges with Kauai Community College; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to section 229-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Hawaii Sister-State Committee is tasked with evaluating and developing recommendations for the initiation of all sister-state relationships and forwarding its recommendations to the Legislature for implementation, if it so chooses, by either adopting a concurrent resolution or enacting session law to that effect; and
WHEREAS, on March 15, 2021, the Hawaii Sister-State Committee unanimously recommended that a sister-state relationship between Hawaii and Yamaguchi Prefecture be established; and
WHEREAS, the Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Muraoka Tsugumasa, supports and will apply for the establishment of a sister-state relationship with Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii is actively seeking to expand its international ties and has an abiding interest in developing goodwill, friendship, and economic relations between the people of Hawaii and the people of many nations; and
WHEREAS, a relationship between Hawaii and Yamaguchi will be highly beneficial in expanding tourism, strengthening cultural bonds, and advancing common goals of international peace and brotherhood; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the Senate concurring, that the Sister-State Committee is requested to evaluate and develop recommendations for the initiation of a sister-state relationship between the State of Hawaii and the Prefecture of Yamaguchi, Japan; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Sister-State Committee report its findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, relative to initiating a sister-state relationship between the State of Hawaii and the Prefecture of Yamaguchi, Japan, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the United States Secretary of State; Ambassador of the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C.; Governor; Governor of the Prefecture of Yamaguchi, Japan; Consul General of Japan in Hawaii; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; and Chair of the Hawaii Sister-State Committee.
Sister-State Relationship; Hawaii; Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
