Report Title:

Office on Hawaiian culture and arts

Description:

Establishes a state office on Hawaiian culture and arts and a grant program.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2816

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to hawaiian culture.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the economic viability of Hawaii's tourism is heavily dependent on the Hawaiian culture, through media such as music, dance, and art. The culture of the indigenous people is unique and of critical importance in differentiating Hawaii from all other sand and sea visitor destinations. Tourism promotions have relied upon Hawaiian culture and arts as the number one marketing tool and basis for perpetuating the aloha spirit, which is so vital to the economic success of the industry.

The legislature further finds that support for Hawaiian culture and arts has been lacking in the various sectors of private and publicly financed tourism.

The purpose of this Act is to establish an office of Hawaiian culture and arts that will focus primarily on the perpetuation and promotion of Hawaiian culture and arts for the benefit of visitors and residents alike.

SECTION 2. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"CHAPTER

HAWAIIAN CULTURE AND ARTS

PART I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

§ -1 Definitions. The following terms, whenever used and referred to in this chapter, shall have the following respective meanings unless a different meaning clearly appears in context.

"Arts" includes music, dance, painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, drama, poetry, prose, crafts, industrial design, interior design, fashion design, photography, television, motion picture art, unique or decorative plants, landscaping, and all other creative activity of imagination and beauty.

"Commission" means the Hawaiian culture and arts commission established in section -2.

"Culture" includes the arts, customs, traditions, mores, and history of the indigenous Hawaiians.

"Executive" means the executive director of the office of Hawaiian culture and arts appointed in section -2.

"Grant" means an award of public funds to a recipient, based on merit and need, to stimulate and support activities of the recipient for a specified public purpose.

"Hawaiian cultural practitioner" means a person who, by reason of education or extensive experience, is generally recognized as being qualified in the practice of the customs and traditions exercised for but not limited to subsistence, cultural, and religious purposes possessed by the descendants of the aboriginal peoples inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands that exercised sovereignty and subsisted in the Hawaiian Islands previous to 1778.

"Humanities" includes fields of study or learning activities that deal with human thoughts, attitudes, and values, and encourages the understanding of ideas, values, and experiences that have or will have formative effects upon Hawaiian culture.

"Individual" means a natural person.

"Nepotism" means appointing persons to positions on a basis of their blood or marital relationship to the appointing authority, rather than on merit or ability.

"Office" means the office of Hawaiian culture and arts established by section -2.

"Organization" means an association formed for a common purpose.

"Perquisite" means a privilege furnished or a service rendered by an organization to an employee, officer, director, or member of that organization to reduce the individual's personal expenses.

"Recipient" means any individual or organization receiving a grant.

§ -2 Office of Hawaiian culture and arts; establishment. (a) There is created an office of Hawaiian culture and arts that shall be placed within the department of business, economic development, and tourism for administrative purposes.

(b) The office shall be governed by a policymaking and oversight commission to be known as the Hawaiian culture and arts commission. The commission, pursuant to section 26-34, shall be composed of seven members, five of whom shall be Hawaiian cultural practitioners: three to be appointed by the governor; two to be appointed by the governor from a list submitted by the president of the senate; and two to be appointed by the governor from a list submitted by the speaker of the house.

The term of each member shall be for four years commencing on July 1 and expiring on June 30; provided that there shall be appointed at least one member who resides in the county of Hawaii, one member who resides in the county of Kauai, and one member who resides in the county of Maui. The governor shall appoint the chairperson of the commission from among its members. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for travel and other necessary expenses in the performance of their official duties.

(c) The commission shall appoint an executive director of the office, who shall:

(1) Serve as the office's chief executive officer;

(2) Be responsible for developing and administering the office's programs under the commission's direction;

(3) Serve on a part-time or full-time basis;

(4) Be a person who, by reason of education or extensive experience, is generally recognized as being professionally qualified in the administration of programs in the various fields of Hawaiiana;

(5) Be familiar with the people and culture of Hawaii;

(6) Be exempt from chapter 76; and

(7) Select necessary additional staff pursuant to chapter 76, within available appropriations.

§ -3 Duties. The office shall:

(1) Assist in coordinating the plans, programs, and activities of individuals, associations, corporations, and agencies concerned with the preservation and furtherance of Hawaiian culture and the arts and history and the humanities;

(2) Establish written standards and criteria by which grant contracts shall be evaluated;

(3) Appraise the availability, adequacy, and accessibility of Hawaiian culture and the arts and history and the humanities to all persons throughout the State and devise programs whereby Hawaiian culture and the arts and history and the humanities can be brought to those who would otherwise not have the opportunity to participate;

(4) Stimulate, guide, and promote Hawaiian culture and the arts and history and the humanities throughout the State;

(5) Devise and recommend legislative and administrative action for the preservation and furtherance of Hawaiian culture and the arts and history and the humanities;

(6) Study the availability of private and governmental grants for the promotion and furtherance of Hawaiian culture and the arts and history and the humanities;

(7) Through its executive director:

(A) Administer funds allocated by grant, gift, or bequest to the office; accept, hold, disburse, and allocate funds that may become available from other governmental and private sources; provided that all funds shall be disbursed or allocated in compliance with any specific designation stated by the donor and in the absence of any designation, the funds shall be disbursed or allocated for the promotion and furtherance of Hawaiian culture and the arts and history and the humanities; and

(B) Accept, hold, disburse, and allocate public funds that are made available to the office by the legislature for disbursement or allocation, pursuant to the standards and procedures established in part II, for the promotion and furtherance of Hawaiian culture and the arts and history and the humanities;

(8) Submit an annual report with recommendations to the governor and legislature, prior to January 15, of each year. Annual reports shall include the total number and amount of gifts received, payroll disbursements, contracts entered into, and progress and accomplishments made during the year;

(9) In cooperation with qualified organizations:

(A) Conduct research, studies, and investigations in the fields of ethnohistory and the humanities;

(B) Make, publish, and distribute works documenting the contributions of individual Hawaiian groups in their relationship to one another and to the whole population of Hawaii;

(C) Place ethnohistorical and cultural materials developed by the office or received by the office as gifts and donations in public archives, libraries, and other suitable institutions accessible to the public; and

(D) Maintain a register of the location of such materials;

(10) Cooperate with and assist the department of land and natural resources and other state agencies in developing and implementing programs relating to historic preservation, research, restoration, and presentation, as well as museum activities; and

(11) Establish an individual artist fellowship program to encourage Hawaiian artists to remain and work in Hawaii and to reaffirm the importance of Hawaiian artists and their cultural and economic contributions to the State by:

(A) Recognizing and honoring exceptionally talented visual and performing Hawaiian artists for their outstanding work and commitment in the arts; and

(B) Enabling these artists to further their artistic goals.

§ -4 Rules. The office shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91 for the purposes of administering this chapter.

§ -5 Qualifying standards for individual artist fellowships. Any individual applying for a fellowship shall meet all of the following standards:

(1) The individual is a resident of the State of Hawaii at the time of application;

(2) The individual is a recognized Hawaiian artist who:

(A) Engages in a particular Hawaiian art form or discipline as a result of education, experience, or natural talent; and

(B) Engages in the art form or discipline as part of the individual’s livelihood;

and

(3) The individual is generally recognized as having been substantially engaged in Hawaiian artistic endeavors prior to the time of application.

§ -6 Requirement for artists receiving an individual artist fellowship. Each artist who, after meeting the qualifications set out in section -5, receives an individual artist fellowship from the office, is required to hold an exhibition or give a performance for the benefit of the people of Hawaii.

PART II. OFFICE GRANT PROGRAM

§ -21 Qualifying standards for office grant applications. An applicant for an office grant shall meet the following standards:

(1) If the applicant is an organization:

(A) Be a for-profit organization incorporated under the laws of the State or a nonprofit organization exempt from the federal income tax under the federal Internal Revenue Code;

(B) In the case of a tax exempt nonprofit organization, the organization shall have a governing board whose members have no material conflict of interest and serve without compensation;

(C) Have bylaws or policies that describe the manner in which business is conducted, prohibit nepotism, and provide for the management of potential conflict of interest situations; and

(D) Have at least one year’s experience with the project or in the program or activity area for which the request for grant is being made; provided that the office may grant an exception where the requesting or proposing organization has demonstrated the necessary experience in the program area.

(2) If the applicant is an individual, the applicant must be determined by the foundation to be:

(A) Generally recognized in the field of Hawaiian culture and the arts or history and the humanities; and

(B) Qualified to carry out the activity or program proposed for delivery to the general public or specified members of the general public.

§ -22 Conditions for office grants. Applicants to whom an office grant has been awarded shall agree to comply with the following conditions before receiving the office grant:

(1) Be employed, or have under contract, persons who are qualified to engage in the program or activity to be funded by the State; provided that for nonprofit organizations, no two or more members of a family or kin of the first or second degree shall be employed or under contract by the organization unless specifically permitted in writing by the office;

(2) Comply with applicable federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, creed, gender, age, or physical handicap;

(3) Agree not to use public funds for perquisites;

(4) Comply with other requirements as the office may prescribe to ensure adherence to federal, state, and county laws by the grant recipient; and

(5) Allow the office, the legislative bodies, and the legislative auditor full access to records, reports, files, and other related documents so that the program, management, and fiscal practices of the grant recipient may be monitored and evaluated to assure the proper and effective expenditure of public funds.

§ -23 Required review of requests for grants. (a) Every request for an office grant shall be reviewed in accordance with this section. Every request for an office grant shall be submitted to the office on an application form provided by the office. Each application shall contain:

(1) A statement of the purpose of the activity or program to be funded by the office grant;

(2) A written description of the activity or program;

(3) Financial information regarding the activity or program;

(4) If the applicant is an organization, personnel position salaries; and

(5) Any other information the office requires.

(b) The office shall review each request to determine the efficiency and the effectiveness of the proposed activity or program in achieving the objectives of the office and its legislative mandate. The review shall be based upon:

(1) An analysis of the request in terms of the objectives to be achieved;

(2) The need in the community for the particular activity or program;

(3) The quality of the proposed program or activity, and the ability of the applicant to carry out the proposed program or activity;

(4) The benefits to be provided by the request in comparison to the estimated costs; and

(5) The extent to which the proposed program and activity meet the priorities established by the office.

(c) The office shall make a final decision on each request.

(d) The office shall inform each grant applicant of the disposition of the application’s request.

(e) The appeal process in the office’s rules adopted pursuant to section    -4 shall be available for any applicant.

§ -24 Allotment. Appropriations for grants to be made under this chapter shall be subject to the allotment system generally applicable to all appropriations made by the legislature.

S -25 Contracts. (a) The office shall not release the public funds approved for an office grant unless a contract is entered into between the office and the recipient of the grant. The office shall develop and determine, in consultation with and subject to the review and approval of the attorney general, the specific contract form to be used.

(b) Payment of funds shall be made within sixty days after a contract is executed. Contracts shall be executed in accordance with the office's rules adopted pursuant to section

-4 and no later than ninety days after receipt of an office-approved revised service proposal or office-approved certification that there have been no programmatic or budgetary changes to the application.

(c) All contracts shall be reviewed by the attorney general for conformance with this part.

§ -26 Monitoring and evaluation. (a) Every office grant contract shall be monitored by the office to ensure compliance with this part.

(b) Every office grant contract shall be evaluated annually to determine whether the office grant attained the intended results in the manner contemplated.

(c) The office shall develop procedures and adopt rules under chapter 91 for monitoring and evaluating grant contracts.

§ -27 Continued eligibility. Any recipient of an office grant who withholds or omits any material fact or deliberately misrepresents facts to the office shall be in violation of this part. In addition to any other penalties provided by law, any recipient found by the office to have violated this part or the terms of its contract shall be prohibited from applying for any office grant for a period of five years from the date of termination.

§ -28 Applicability and interpretation. This part shall control all grants made by the office. This part shall be liberally construed so as not to hinder or impede the application, receipt, and use of federal moneys that may become available to the State and the office. If unanticipated federal moneys not included in the legislature’s appropriation to the office become available, the office, pursuant to chapter 29, may apply for, receive, and expend the federal moneys in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the applicable federal statutes, regulations, or financial award documents.

S -29 Hawaiian culture and arts special fund.

(a) There is created a Hawaiian culture and arts special fund, into which shall be annually transferred transient accommodations taxes as provided in section 237D-6.5.

(b) The Hawaiian culture and arts special fund shall be used for, but not limited to, the following purposes:

(1) Costs related to the acquisition of works of art, including any consultant or staff services required to carry out the art in public places and relocatable works of art programs;

(2) Site modifications, display, and interpretive work necessary for the exhibition of works of art;

(3) Upkeep services, including maintenance, repair, and restoration of works of art; and

(4) Storing and transporting works of art."

SECTION 3. Section 237D-6.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Revenues collected under this chapter shall be distributed as follows:

(1) 17.3 per cent of the revenues collected under this chapter shall be deposited into the convention center capital and operations special fund established under section 206X-10.5;

(2) 37.9 per cent of the revenues collected under this chapter shall be deposited into the tourism special fund established under section 201B-11; provided that beginning on January 1, 2002, 5.28 per cent of the revenues deposited into the tourism special fund shall be transferred into the Hawaiian culture and arts special fund established under section       -29;

(3) 44.8 per cent of the revenues collected under this chapter shall be transferred as follows: Kauai county shall receive 14.5 per cent, Hawaii county shall receive 18.6 per cent, city and county of Honolulu shall receive 44.1 per cent, and Maui county shall receive 22.8 per cent.

All transient accommodations taxes shall be paid into the state treasury each month within ten days after collection, and shall be kept by the state director of finance in special accounts for distribution as provided in this subsection."

SECTION 4. There is hereby appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii, the sum of $500,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2002-2003 for the office of Hawaiian culture and arts.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of business, economic development, and tourism for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2002.

INTRODUCED BY:

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