Bill Text: HI SR63 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishing A Task Force To Plan And Coordinate The Celebration Of The One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary Of The First Arrival Of Japanese Emigrants To Hawaii.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-05-30 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 05-30-17. [SR63 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2017-SR63-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	63
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

establishing a task force to plan and coordinate the celebration of the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the first arrival of japanese emigrants to hawaii.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the first Japanese emigrants to Hawaii, one hundred forty-seven men and six women from Yokohama, arrived at Honolulu harbor aboard the vessel Scioto on June 20, 1868, after a thirty-three-day voyage under Captain Reagan; and

 

     WHEREAS, these first emigrants were recruited by Eugene M. Van Reed, Consul of Hawaii in Yokohama, through employment agents in the Keihin area to work mainly as laborers on sugar cane fields, and later came to be called the gannen mono, meaning "first year men," to describe the first year of Meiji era arrivals; and

 

     WHEREAS, persons of Japanese ancestry and the Japanese community as a whole have subsequently made significant and distinguished contributions to all facets of the rich multicultural history of the Hawaiian Islands and the United States of America; and

 

     WHEREAS, June 20, 2018, will mark the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the first arrival of Japanese emigrants to Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts was established by the Legislature in 1965 with a mission to promote, perpetuate, preserve, and encourage culture and the arts, history, and the humanities as central tenets contributing to the quality of life of the people of Hawaii; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, that there is established, within the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, a task force to plan and coordinate the celebration of the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the first arrival of Japanese emigrants to Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force members be selected as follows:

 

     (1)  Three members to be selected by the President of the Senate, provided that at least one member is a member of the Senate;

 

     (2)  Three members to be selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, provided that at least one member is a member of the House of Representatives;

 

     (3)  Five members to be selected by the Governor; and

 

     (4)  The Executive Director of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, or the Executive Director's designee, who shall serve as an ex officio member; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force select a chairperson from among its members; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a vacancy on the task force be filled by the same selection authority that appointed the vacating member; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that eight members of the task force constitute a quorum; provided that an affirmative vote of six members is necessary for decision-making; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force meeting schedule be determined by the members; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force develop, plan, and coordinate various program activities to celebrate and commemorate the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the first arrival of Japanese emigrants to Hawaii, including a series of events from January 1, 2018, through September 4, 2018; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force submit a report of its proposed activities, plans, and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2018; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report to the Legislature include:

 

     (1)  Events the task force has planned and executed prior to the submission of the report;

 

     (2)  A detailed plan on how the task force will implement its remaining recommendations; and

 

     (3)  The identification and recommendation of procedures for the appropriate disbursal of any public funds related to the task force's work; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be exempt from chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the task force not be considered state employees for the purposes of chapter 84, Hawaii Revised Statutes, due solely to their service on the task force; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force dissolve on June 19, 2019; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Executive Director of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Culture and the Arts; Task Force; 150th Anniversary of First Arrival of Japanese Emigrants