STAND. COM. REP. NO.3112

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: S.C.R. No. 15

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 15 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION CREATING A WORKING GROUP OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATIONS AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO FORM A COALITION TO PROVIDE BETTER ACCESS TO STATE VITAL STATISTICS RECORDS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to create a working group of representatives from Hawaiian organizations and the Department of Health to determine the pending needs of the Hawaiian community regarding the documentation needed to support Hawaiian identity with respect to bills pending in the U.S. Congress to provide federal recognition to the Hawaiian people.

Testimony supporting this measure was received from the Department of Health and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Your Committees find that if and when the U.S. Congress adopts these bills, a system of enrollment for Hawaiians will be necessary to qualify them for federal recognition. This resolution initiates the process to develop such a system.

Your Committees have amended this measure by including the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in the coalition because they have the greatest expertise in the assessment of which documents are needed and how they are to be provided to support Hawaiian identity for purposes of government benefits and programs.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 15, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 15, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Health and Human Services,

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DAVID MATSUURA, Chair

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JONATHAN CHUN, Chair