SCR 99

THE SENATE
S.C.R. NO.
99
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII
SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
Convening a working group to establish a nonprofit
organization recognized by the State to support arts and culture engagement and
related initiatives.
���� WHEREAS, the State has long served as a center for
cultural exchange, artistic expression, and intellectual collaboration due to
its unique history, cultural heritage, and geographic position in the Pacific;
and
���� WHEREAS, other states have helped empower communities
and the people within them by establishing arts and cultural centers that
provide for creative residency programming for artists, writers, scholars, and
other creators with opportunities and safe spaces to collaborate, develop new
work, educate students and aspiring peers, and engage with local communities;
and
���� WHEREAS, such programs frequently bring in creators
at the top of their industries and disciplines, including award winning
artists, composers, authors, and others, who benefit local communities through public
lectures, workshops, and educational programming in partnership with
universities, community colleges, schools, and community organizations;
and
���� WHEREAS, the State's arts and culture landscape
provides an appropriate setting for an arts and cultural center that supports
creative residencies while fostering public engagement and educational
programming; and
���� WHEREAS, some
of the most successful models of these kinds of arts and culture centers are
quasi-government nonprofit organizations that supplement and support broader
government-run efforts and programs, as these models provide more flexibility
and adaptability for private fundraising, management, innovation, and community
engagement; now, therefore,
���� BE IT
RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii,
Regular Session of 2026, the House of Representatives concurring, that there is
convened a working group to establish a nonprofit organization recognized by
the State to support arts and culture engagement and related initiatives; and
���� BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the working group shall be co-chaired by the Chairs of the Senate
and House of Representative Standing Committees with primary jurisdiction over
arts and culture; and
���� BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the working group shall include a representative of the State
Foundation on Culture and the Arts and other members or subject matter experts,
to be invited by the Chairs; and
���� BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the working group shall:
���� (1)� Identify successful arts and culture residency
nonprofit models in other jurisdictions;
���� (2)� Examine governance structures and partnership
models used by those organizations;
���� (3)� Develop and establish the structure,
governance, and operational framework of a nonprofit organization as may be
appropriate to provide for arts and culture residencies in the State to connect
leading creators in their fields with local counterparts, students, and
communities as may be most beneficial; and
���� (4)� Identify
potential partnerships with educational institutions, cultural organizations,
community groups, and similar organizations in other places; and
���� BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report of its
findings, activities, and recommendations to the Legislature no later than
twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Sessions of 2027 and 2028;
and
���� BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to
the Executive Director of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts; Chair
of the Senate Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts; and Chair of the
House Committee on Culture and the Arts.
Report Title:�
Working
Group; Culture and the Arts; SFCA; Reports