Bill Text: HI HCR50 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Concurrent Resolution 50 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Endangered Species; Donations at Airports

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-02-28 - Referred to TRN, WAL, referral sheet 26 [HCR50 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2014-HCR50-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	50
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

urging the department of transportation to evaluate the feasibility of establishing a program to encourage airline passengers leaving the state to donate change for the care and conservation of endangered species in hawaii.

WHEREAS, Hawaii is a special place, and the world's most geographically isolated land mass; and

WHEREAS, natural forces brought many plants and animals to Hawaii long before the arrival of humans; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's unique location and history have produced species found nowhere else; and

WHEREAS, contact with people, plants and animals from other parts of the world since 1778 has decimated many of Hawaii's native species; and

WHEREAS, dozens of birds, insects, mollusks, and plants once endemic to Hawaii have now become extinct; and

WHEREAS, although Hawaii comprises less than one per cent of the land area of the United States but is home to more than twenty-five per cent of the species on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's endangered species list; and

WHEREAS, the endangered species list includes more than fifty animal species and three hundred plant species from Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii is sometimes referred to as the endangered species capital of the world; and

WHEREAS, there clearly is a pressing need to care for and protect Hawaii's endangered species; and

WHEREAS, more than eight million visitors a year now come to Hawaii and account for a total of more than $14,000,000,000 in yearly expenditures; and

WHEREAS, many visitors are drawn to Hawaii by its natural beauty and have expressed interest in helping to protect and preserve that beauty; and

WHEREAS, many visitors to Hawaii are from other nations, and return to their homes with United States coins and currency of small denominations that are difficult to spend or exchange for other currencies; and

WHEREAS, programs have been established in other states and nations that encourage visitors to "make a change with your change" by making donations to feed hungry children, build shelters and schools, fund cancer research, and assist other worthy causes; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Transportation is urged to evaluate the feasibility of establishing a program to encourage airline passengers leaving Hawaii to donate change to support the care and conservation of Hawaii's endangered species; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is urged to consult with the Department of Land and Natural Resources and other interested agencies and parties about the feasibility of establishing this program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2015; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation and the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.