House Standing Committee on Culture & Arts

Aloha, everyone. Good morning. We are gaveling in for our 9:30 agenda for the Committee on Culture and the Arts. Thank you all for joining us today in person and via Zoom. It's February 6th, today is-- it's 9:30, and we are in Conference Room 309.

We're gonna jump right in, but before we do so, I'm gonna read the little script. Make a new note of the mics that are in our new conference rooms. I'm not sure if the Senate has also adjusted their mics, so it's quite wonderful. We don't have a time limit, but try to limit yourselves.

Because morning hearings are adjourned prior to noon floor session, just please make sure that we try to get there. I think we'll be fine, though. Please keep yourself muted if you are joining us via Zoom while you wait to testify and after your testimony is complete.

Please note that the Zoom chat function is only for technical staff, so please use that only for technical issues. And if you are disconnected unexpectedly, you may attempt to rejoin the meeting. If disconnected while presenting testimony, you may be allowed to continue if time permits, but please note that the House is not responsible for any bad Internet connections on the testifier's end.

And in the event of a network failure, it may be necessary to reschedule the hearing or schedule a meeting for decision-making. In that case, an appropriate notice will be posted. And then, please avoid any trademarks or copyright images on your Zoom backgrounds. And then finally, let's please refrain from any profanity or uncivil behavior. Such behavior may be grounds for removal from the hearing without the ability to rejoin.

So jumping into our first measure, HB 2437, relating to arts education. Appropriates funds to the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts for the Artists in the Schools Program. Up first, we have Department of Education in support. Okay. Not present. Up next, we have the State Foundation for Culture in the Arts Director Karen Ewald in support in person.

Hi. Good morning, Chair and Vice Chair. Karen Ewald, Executive Director for the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. We stand in strong support of this measure. I just want to make sure, it's not to ask for the only full funding of the Arts and Schools Program. We have that allocated for that. This would help make it more robust in the future. So we appreciate that. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Director. We also have Hawaii Community Foundation in support, as well as two other individuals, all in support. Members, is there any other... Is there anyone else who would like to testify? Okay. Seeing none. Members, are there any questions? Okay, just a quick question for Director Ewald.

You kind of note it and you allude to it in your testimony, but can you explain, and perhaps if there's someone else from your team, that might be better, but can you explain how this would help bolster the program?

Yes. So currently, so we're having an increase in demand for this program because this program is so popular and so well received. And because of that, we've had increased applications for these grants. We weren't able to fully fund the program this fiscal year because of the increased applications.

So ideally, we'd like to fund all the schools for Artists in Schools Program, but this additional funds would really help us fill all the needs, the current needs that we have, if that makes sense. So we do have funds available, or we do have funds allocated in fiscal year 27 for Artists in Schools Program, but this would help us to fully fund all the applications.

Okay, how many applications did you unfortunately have to turn away?

130 something. Go ahead. Come on up, Nikki. I'll have Nikki here, our arts education specialist.

Aloha. Danica Rosengren, Arts Education Specialist at the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. So this year, I believe we denied 25. We had 132 apply, and about 7 were rejected by the panel just for a couple, like, larger questions. But 25, the panel approved to fund and we didn't have the funds to do so.

Okay, thank you so much for that clarification.

Okay, members, any other questions? Okay. Seeing none, we're going to move on to the next measure, HB 2461, relating to the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. This increases the ceiling for the Works of Art Special Fund, appropriates funds for the maintenance, upkeep, and preservation of the state's public art and collection; it also appropriates funds for the collections manager position within the State Foundation for Culture and the Arts. Up first, I have Director Ewald, State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, in person, in support.

Hi. Good morning, again, Chair and committee. Karen Ewald, State Foundation. We do support this measure very strongly, and I'm happy to answer any questions you have. Thank you.

Members, that's all I have on my testifiers list. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on this measure? Okay, seeing none. Any questions? I have a couple of questions for State Foundation.

Yes. Sorry, I'm trying to find the paper.

You have quite a stack there.

I have a lot of stuff to back this one up. Thank you.

Okay, perfect. In the measure, you request $1.7 million for upkeep, maintenance, and preservation. Can you share with the committee a couple of examples of what that lump sum would go towards?

For sure, and what I kind of want to visually show first is the full list of the works of art needing either regular upkeep or maintenance throughout the entire state. So there's quite a few. A lot of it is just regular maintenance that doesn't cost too much in funding, but some of the larger works that we have slated for conservation are the Tadashi Sato Submerged Rock and Water Reflections.

That's at the Shinmachi Tsunami Memorial in Hilo. That could be upwards of $700,000 because we want to really conserve that work and protect it for future-- where it's placed is kind of difficult, so we're trying to make sure that once it's conserved, it lasts for a long, long time. We also have the King Kamehameha Statue here as well on Kohala. The base of the statue needs a lot of work. There's a lot of rebar sticking out, things like that.

The Satoru Abe Volcano at the stadium, it's going to be moved, but then it's going to be relocated and does need conservation. So it's those kinds of large works that we really wanted to project to conserve as soon as possible. So-- but it's a constant kind of list.

Will the preservation of these pieces, will they allow them to expand, say, over 10 or 20 years or even further?

Even further. Yeah, even further. Sometimes-- and then the other thing that we do every couple of years that we budget for--though we did with the Special Fund, now we need General Funds for--is bronze maintenance. So there are a lot of works of art throughout the entire state that are bronze from really well-known artists, some passed on, some still living.

That is a big contract that we contract out with experts to go throughout the state and work on the patina bronzing, which really preserves those works of art for decades, really. And as we do more and more commissions, we really want to ensure that we have that kind of conservation schedule. So it's really necessary.

Would you be able to share that list with the committee?

Yeah, one-hundred percent. For sure.

Okay, perfect.

Thank you. And then one more question. In here, we also talk about the need to increase the ceiling. Can you explain that a little bit more?

Yeah. Thank you.

And the $2.3 million?

Yeah, for sure.

Yeah. So we kind of-- we're projecting that. So currently, starting Fiscal 27, we'll have $1.3 million to work with as our ceiling for the Special Fund. We do have a cash balance of about $22 million, right?

So what we really want to do is increase that ceiling because 1.3 isn't really enough for us to meet the needs of the community. We usually allocate about $700,000 towards relocatable works of art, and that really puts a lot of money into the community of the local arts community. And then we also have commission works of art.

So with the increase in demand of commission works of art, we have a few new buildings as well as existing buildings slated for us to do large-scale site-specific commissions. We would need-- what is that a number? We would need an additional--was that $800,000 to $900,000?--for us to budget for those large-scale works of art.

And it is-- we are increasing the budget for each work of art, only because we're finding that we're having to go back to the commission as installation happens with these works because of the increase in materials price due to, like, the global uncertainty, and the market, and tariffs, and things like that. So that's why we're hoping to just access that cash balance a little bit more.

Okay. Thank you so much. Members, any other questions? Okay, seeing none. We're going to move on to the next measure, HB 2604, relating to performing arts. This establishes a performing arts ticket surcharge on the sale of certain performing arts tickets for any event held in the state. Up first, we have the Department of Attorney Generals providing comments.

Good morning, Chair Kapela and Members of the Committee. My name is Cynthia Johiro for the Department of Attorney General. In our written testimony, I believe we pointed out a concern about certain language in this bill. But we also did try to provide a remedy to address our concerns. That's all we have. Thank you. And I'm available for question.

Thank you so much. Thank you for your testimony. Up next we have Department of Taxation with comments.

Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Apologize for the tardiness of our testimony. Is the committee receipt of the written comments? With that, we'll stand on it. Available for questions.

Perfect. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony and thank you for being here. Up next, Director Ewald, State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, in support.

Good morning. Yes, State Foundation on Culture and the Arts in support of this measure. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Director. Up next, Tax Foundation of Hawaii with comments via Zoom.

Aloha. Colleen Teramae for our President Tom Yamachika, who's in another hearing. The Tax Foundation of Hawaii stands on its written comments. Thank you.

Thank you very much for your testimony. We also have testimony in opposition from Gregory Dunn, Hawaii Theater. Okay. Not present. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on this measure? Okay. Seeing none. Members, are there any questions? Okay, I have a couple of questions for the Attorney General's Office. I just want to further clarify. I did read your written testimony. If we do include the Hawaii based or if we take out the term Hawaii based, would we be okay and would we not trigger the dormant...

Yes, that would be... That's our remedy for addressing our concern.

Okay. Okay, perfect. And then I just wanted to further clarify. Is there any issues with the specification for nonprofits whose sole focus is on performing arts education? Does that trigger anything, that further specification?

Other than that Hawaii based, it's as broad or narrow as you decide you want it to be.

Okay, perfect. Just making sure we're covering it. Thank you very much. Okay. And then I also have a question for DOTAX. Thank you for being here and for your testimony. You referenced that it's difficult for the department to be able to track to do the transfer in the accounting for something directly into a special fund, that that's fundamentally different from what you folks have done in the past. You also recommend like a dollar amount. Do you have any examples of what we can utilize from other surcharges?

Not yet. For GET purposes, all of our surcharges are based off of percentages of gross income and gross income, which this would be something very different. It wouldn't be gross income. It wouldn't be a percentage base. So we're going to have to rely on our financial estimate, which is not ready yet. And that is going to be in part dependent on the data that's available because this particular bill is for certain types of performing arts, dollar value over 35.

So if we can separate out how many of those events are within the state, how many tickets, then we can get an estimate as to, if this is imposed, this is what the revenue would be. And then of course, you know, you would have something to base your revenue estimate off of.

I can't promise that those numbers are available. All I can say is that we're working on, we will be working on getting an estimate as to the fiscal impact of this... Excuse me. Before it gets the money committee. I just don't have those numbers for you now.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Okay. I had a question for Mr. Dunn, but seeing that he is not present, Members, are there any further questions? If not, we're going to move on to the next measure.

HB 2605, relating to the arts, establishes a position within the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts to support implementation and coordination of specialized arts programs and therapeutic arts intervention for underserved neurodivergent populations, appropriates funds as well. Up first, we have testimony in support from Director Ewald, State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

Good morning. Yes, the State Foundation stands in strong support of this measure, and we're happy to answer any questions, especially.

Thank you so much, Director. You're getting your steps in.

Oh, yeah. I know.

That's all I had on my testifiers list. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on this measure? Okay. Are there any questions? Okay. Seeing none, I don't have any questions on this particular measure, so we're going to move on to our next-- we're almost there, folks.

HB 1860, relating to the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, designates the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra as the State of Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, requires annual reports to the Legislature, and appropriates money. Up first, we have the Attorney General's Office providing comments.

Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair, members. The Attorney General's Office--sorry. Deputy Attorney General Ian Robertson. Attorney General's Office submitted testimony suggesting some language to strengthen the public purpose statement of the bill and to elaborate on the history of the state and the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Okay, up next, we have the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra President and CEO, Amy Iwano, in support.

Yes, hello there. Hello to the committee. My name is Dane Lam. I'm the music and artistic director of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. We stand in strong support of this bill and stand upon our written testimony.

But I also just want to thank the House for considering this visionary measure that would designate the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra as the State Symphony Orchestra. I don't need to talk about the benefits, the fiscal benefits, the emotional benefits, the educational benefits, benefits to social cohesion that having a symphony orchestra brings to a city.

Every great world city, every great world state has a symphony orchestra, has an art museum, has a great university, and so this is all part of that narrative. Why does the symphony orchestra-- why does the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra need support?

When you think about having 84 of the top musicians in the world on stage performing week after week, especially considering the cost of living here, it's an incredibly resource-intensive initiative. And every symphony orchestra, since time immemorial-- a good orchestra can cover about 30% of its operating budget through ticket sales. Just 30%.

The rest has always come from philanthropy, from corporations, from individuals, and we have so many generous individuals in the community who support Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. But this bill would bring us in line not just with the majority of symphony orchestras and governments all around the world, but even within the United States.

We have states like New Jersey, like North Carolina, like Florida, like Utah, who all support, as a matter of pride and civic purpose, their symphony orchestras. And I just think it's a wonderful, wonderful thing that the Hawaii State Legislature is considering this. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much. Up next, we have the Hawaii Youth Symphony President and CEO, Randy Wong, in support.

Yes, hi. I'm also here on my own behalf as a professional musician, a member of the Hawaii Symphony. I just wanted to say that, to have a state symphony and have it be the Hawaii Symphony, really means a lot to the kids growing up here.

You know, of course, in Hawaii, we have a threat of brain drain all the time, but especially in the arts. It's really difficult for those of us who grew up here and then go to the continent, have a great experience, and then to find a way to come back home and to make a living.

And so I wanted to bring a picture of the alumni of Hawaii Youth Symphony who are in Hawaii Symphony Orchestra now. They're my colleagues, they're my friends. They've come back after years of dedication to come back to perform, also to teach, and so to build that pipeline is something that I think we can't let go of.

And you think about all the ways that folks that come back to Hawaii and then serve in the community. I found a job at the Youth Symphony at the same time that I was playing orchestra. There's a lot of stories like that. And so we really appreciate your support for this measure. Mahalo.

Thank you so much for your testimony. We also have Retail Merchants of Hawaii, Dave Erdman, President and CEO, in support, in person. Okay. Not present. State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, in support, in person.

Good morning. Yes, the State Foundation stands in support of this measure. Happy to answer questions.

Thank you so much, Director. Okay. I will note that we also have testimony in support from ABC Stores and Masaki Music, School of Music, Avalon Group, Servco Pacific, and about 116 testimonies, all in support. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on this specific measure? Okay. I would like to commend the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra for turning out so much testimony.

It's really beautiful to witness our community members coming out to support the benefits that music offer not only to our students, but to every individual living in our state. It's quite a privilege to witness. Members, are there any questions? Okay. Seeing none, I think it's pretty clear-cut. We're gonna move-- I don't have any questions.

We're gonna move on to our final measure of the day, HB 2001, relating to Love My Library Day. Designates the first Friday, which I didn't know that we were gonna hear the bill on first Friday, so I'm actually really grateful that it worked out this way.

But designates the first Friday in February of each year as Love My Library Day in the state. So let me flip through my many sheets of testimony. First, we have the Department of Education in support in person. Not present. Next, we have the Hawaii State Public Library System in support via Zoom.

Aloha, Chair. I have my video. Sorry. There we are. Aloha, Chair and Vice Chair and Committee Members. Stacey Aldrich, State Librarian of Hawaii State Public Library System. Mahalo for the opportunity to testify from one of our very well loved public libraries here on the island of Hawaii, the Thelma Parker Public and School Library.

We stand on our written testimony in strong support of HB 2001. This bill acknowledges the important reality that libraries are vital spaces in our communities that create opportunities for all to read, learn, connect to ideas, to information, to technology, and to each other. This day is not a state holiday, but it's a statewide statement.

A reminder that our Hawaii libraries are not just places for knowledge, but they're places that spark possibility. I thank you for this opportunity. Mahalo and thank you for your support.

Thank you so much. Thank you for your testimony. We also have testimony in support from Nainoa Mau, Friends of the Library of Hawaii. And we have numerous Friends of the Library testimonies in support, as well as an individual in person, Meera Garud. Okay. Okay. That's all I had on my testifiers list in person.

I will note that we have testimony in support from 12 individuals and numerous Friends of the Libraries, as I stated. Is there anyone else in the audience that would like to testify? Oh, please come up. State your name.

Hello. My name is Jessica Hogan, and I'm a resident of the state and I live in Mililani. So thank you for hearing my testimony and in support of libraries. I just wanted to say, as a mom, I have three children and they've gone through the public school system.

And being in Mililani, we were fortunate enough to have school librarians in each of my child's elementary school, middle school, and high school. And I have a senior now and she's been able to go through AP courses and take the capstone program and do research throughout her several years in high school. And now she's ready to go off to college. And, you know, she's been able to apply to several schools on the mainland.

And so, and I've seen my younger daughter, who's a 10th grader, also follow that same path. And so I know that getting the resources from the libraries and the school librarians themselves, teaching those research skills have been really useful throughout their career. So thank you very much for your support of libraries.

Thank you so much for your testimony. There's also, there's a sheet on this podium. Just make sure you fill it out just as you're doing. Yeah, just make sure you add your name. We'd like to be able to put it into the records. Thank you so much. Thank you for your testimony. Thank you for being here.

Aloha, Chair Kapela, Vice Chair Kong, and Members of the Culture and Arts Committee. My name is Ellen-Rae Cachola. I'm an individual professional worker in the library, and I want to ask your support for HB 2001, relating to Love My Library Day.

School, public, and academic libraries touch the lives of people at all ages by nurturing their right to read and to be informed, to navigate challenges, and to participate in our society. Designating one day of the year to recognize libraries builds moral support for library staff and the public when we have been made to feel that our work doesn't matter.

When our governments invest in libraries to collect and provide access to books, multimedia, and technology resources, it shows their belief in the human capacity to strive and do better and participate in our democracy. It is up to individuals to decide to practice their rights. I do see in the news that technology changes are decreasing reading, especially among younger generations.

This is troubling because our laws and institutional policies and procedures are written in text. If people don't develop the inner discipline or passion to read, will they bother to follow the laws or just do things as they are told without looking at the facts themselves?

There is a need for societal messaging that to love your library is to love yourself and to love your community. Libraries grow people to intellectually and empathetically engage with society and the world. To love my library, this bill is just one way to powerfully send affirmative messages to society. Please support HB 2001, Love My Library Day. Mahalo.

Thank you so much for your testimony. I love hearing your passion. It makes me so, makes me so happy. Vice Chair, you need to go to the library. Please.

Hello to the esteemed Members of this Committee. I fully support this bill. As a retired professor and librarian who worked at UH Manoa and Kapiolani Community College, I witness personally the educational and civic benefits that public school, higher education, and archival and museum libraries provide to our community, from educational benefits from keiki to kupuna.

My public library in Kaimuki is always crowded and full of people enjoying the educational benefits and access to online resources that our state provides. Sometimes we take free things for granted. So this day of acknowledgement is so important to let our communities and decision makers know that this is a service the state and our libraries provide for their benefit and use. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for your testimony. And then please state your name because I don't think you said your name.

Sunyeen Pai. It made it to the testimony document.

I appreciate you folks being here. I love the timing of how this worked out. It's a personal triumph today. Thank you again for your testimony. Anyone else wishing to testify on Love My Library Day? Okay, seeing none. Members, are there any questions? Okay, seeing none. We're going to do a quick recess.

Okay. We are gaveling back in for decision making for our 9:30am agenda.

Up first is HB 2437, relating to the arts. Appropriates funds for the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts for the Artists in the Schools Program. For this measure, Chair recommends passing out an HD 1. We're going to be blanking out the appropriation and noting that the additional, the needed additional $220,000.

We're going to add that to the committee report for the Committee on Finance to consider adding to the budget. We are also going to be defecting the date. Members, any questions, comments, or concerns? Okay. Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

Okay, voting on HB 2437 with amendments. Chair and Vice Chair vote aye. [Roll Call] Your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you, Members. Moving on to HB 2461, relating to the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Increases the ceiling of the Works of Art Special Fund. Appropriates funds for the maintenance, upkeep, and preservation of the state's public arts and art and collections.

Appropriates funds for the collection manager position within the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. We are going to be deferring this measure for decision making on Friday, February 13, and an appropriate notice will be posted.

Moving on to HB 2604, relating to performing arts. Establishes a performing arts ticket surcharge on the sale of certain performing arts tickets for an event held in the state. Okay. Chair recommends passing this with an HD 1. We are going to be making technical amendments needed for clarity, consistency, and style.

On page two, line 18, we are also going to clarify that events performed by students enrolled at any public charter school are not subject to this surcharge. We're also going to be adopting the AG's recommendation and deleting the phrase Hawaii based.

Beyond that, we are going to accept the recommendations made by DOTAX to align the record keeping requirements with section 237-41, which governs the maintenance, production, and examination of records by adding the provision that they provided in their testimony.

We are also going to be... I would like to note in the committee report DOTAX's recommendation around a set dollar amount allocation to be transferred into the Performing Arts Special Fund. And we will also be blanking that out and adding it to the committee report.

Finally, we are going to be defecting the date and noting in the committee report that the department will need ample time to allow this change to take place, recommending an effective date of January 1, 2027, as requested in the committee report. Okay, any questions, comments, or concerns? Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

Okay, voting on HB 2604 with amendments. Noting the excused absences of Representative Sayama and Reyes Oda. Any noes? Any with reservations? Recommendation is adopted.

Thank you so much, Members. Moving on to HB 2605, relating to arts. Establishes a position within the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts to support implementation and coordination of specialized arts programs and therapeutic arts interventions for underserved and neurodiverse populations.

Chair recommends passing this out with an HD 1. We're going to be blanking out the appropriation and defecting the date. Any questions, comments, or concerns? Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

Okay, voting on HB 2605 with amendments. Are there any noes? With reservations? Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you so much, Members. Moving on to HB 1860, relating to the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. Designates the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra as the State of Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. Requires an annual report to the Legislature and appropriates money. First off, I do want to thank every single individual who took the time to testify and submit their testimony.

It really is beautiful to see the impact that the orchestra has had on our state. We're going to be adopting... We're going to be passing this out with an HD 1. And we are going to be adopting the AG's comments to clarify the legislature's intent and determination that this designation does serve a specific public purpose. We're going to be adding that to section 1.

To further facilitate the public's understanding of the legislature's intent, we are going to further clarify in section 1 of the bill by describing the historical support that the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra has received from the state of Hawaii through the Hawaii through the State of Hawaii Endowment Fund and the public benefit that has accrued from its existence. Finally, I want to note that the appropriation is already blank, but we will be defecting the date. Members, any questions, comments, or concerns? Okay. Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

Okay. Voting on HB 1860 with amendments. Are there any noes? With reservations? Recommendation is adopted.

Thank you so much, Members. Moving on to our final measure, HB 2001, relating to Love My Library Day. Designates the first Friday in February of each year as Love My Library here in the state. As an avid library goer and someone who I think my life has been changed by and saved in many ways by reading.

Last year, I read over 47 books, not including the ones that I read to my daughter. And we also, we try whenever we get a chance to be able to go to our library and to do the children's readings. And it really is so special. So I do appreciate the libraries. This bill is very special to me. We are going to be passing this out with an HD 1. We are just going to be defecting the date. Any questions, comments, or concerns?

Chair, just to echo your sentiments. Yeah. Libraries are important, and as we've heard today from the testimony, it's a place to imagine. It's a place for us to manifest our curiosities, to connect. But, you know, one of the things I mentioned is it's also a safe space for kids, for adults, and it's a safe space for me growing up.

And I just wanted to say that there's a predictability that kids are looking for and oftentimes a safe space, where books don't judge who you are or what you might be going through. I just want to thank you for passing this, and I think it's really important to a lot more people than I think we acknowledge or know. That's all.

Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Representative Lee. Okay. With that, Vice Chair for the vote.

Okay, voting on HB 2001 with amendments. Are there any noes? With reservations? Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you so much, Members. We are adjourned.