S.R. No. 56 Summary

• Requests the Department of Land and Natural Resources to convene a task force to recommend legislation requiring cultural monitoring of construction and development projects in Hawaii.

• Task force membership includes representatives from federal agencies (U.S. Department of Interior Office of Hawaiian Relations and National Park Service), state legislature, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, archaeological firms, and Native Hawaiian organizations.

• Task force members serve voluntarily, are exempt from Hawaii's conflict of interest laws (chapter 84, HRS), and are responsible for their own participation costs.

• Task force must submit proposed legislation to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the 2013 Regular Session and is automatically dissolved on June 30, 2013.

• Resolution emphasizes that cultural monitoring significantly protects historic and cultural resources including iwi kupuna (Hawaiian burial remains) during construction activities.