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Hawaiʻi State Archives

1894 Constitutional Convention

  • Corporate body
  • 1894-05-30/1894-07-05

According to the proclamation of January 17, 1893 by the Committee of Safety which abrogated the monarchy, the Provisional Government was intended to be an interim regime until the Hawaiian Islands were annexed by the United States. The subsequent withdrawal of the annexation treaty in the United States, along with increasing partisan strife over domestic issues, caused the leaders of the Provisional Government to seek more systematic procedures of governance. In the opening address to the Constitutional Convention Sanford B. Dole said, "The delay which the project of political union between Hawaii and the United States of America has experienced has brought up the question of modifying the present provisional system in order to give the Government a permanent form, and to more fully introduce the principle of representation by the people."

On March 15, 1894 President Dole approved Act 69 of the Executive and Advisory Councils, which provided for the convening of a Constitutional Con­vention, ·subject to the call of the President. It stipulated that the con­vention be composed of the President, members of the Executive and Advisory Councils, and eighteen elected delegates, and be presided over by the chairman of the Executive and Advisory Councils. The act further stipulated the quali­fications for electors and delegates.

Pursuant to Act 69, on March 19, 1894. the Minister of the Interior issued a proclamation calling for an election of.delegates on May 2nd; on May 10th President Dole issued a proclamation summoning the members of the convention to convene on May 30, 1894.

1950 Constitutional Convention

  • Corporate body
  • 1950-04-04/1950-07-22

Act 334, S.L.H. 1949, mandated the calling of a convention of 63 elected delegates to form a constitution and state government and to prepare for the admission of Hawaii as a state. Upon completion of its deliberations, the convention was directed to notify the Governor who would submit the constitution to the Legislature. The Legislature was charged with providing for the submission of the constitution, along with any changes it proposed, to the electorate for ratification. If the legislature failed to provide for the ratification of the constitution, the Governor was authorized to call a special election for such purpose.

The Hawaii State Constitutional Convention was called to order by Secretary of the Territory, Oren E. Long, in the Throne Room of the Iolani Palace. Samuel Wilder King was elected president and presiding officer of the Convention, and Hebden Porteus, secretary. Also elected were four vice­-presidents: Thomas T. Sakakihara from the First Senatorial District; Arthur D. Woolaway, Second Senatorial District; Hiram L. Fong, Third Senatorial District; and Charles A. Rice, Fourth Senatorial District.

Twenty standing committees were established, seventeen to consider proposals (Bill of Rights; Legislative Powers and Functions; Executive Powers and Functions; Judiciary; Taxation and Finance; Local Government; Education; Health and Public Welfare; Industry and Labor; Agriculture, Conservation and Land; Hawaiian Homes Commission Act; Suffrage and Elections; Revisions, Amendments, Initiative, Referendum and Recall; Ordinances and Continuity of Law; Miscellaneous Matters; Style; Submission and Information) and three concerned with procedural matters (Rules and Order of Business, Accounts, and Printing). Proposals for inclusion in the constitution were referred to the proper standing committee for consideration and study. The committees held discussions and hearings, and in their reports to the president, made committee proposals which became the basis for discussion by the delegates in the Committee of the Whole. After the report of the Committee of the Whole was approved it was referred to the Committee on Style, which was responsible
for detecting inaccuracies, repetitions, and inconsistencies and for arranging each proposal in proper order in the constitution.

The constitution was signed by 62 of 63 delegates in a public ceremony at Iolani Palace on July 22, 1950, the 79th day of the Convention; referred to the Legislature at a special session in September, 1950; and accepted in entirety by Joint Resolution 1. On November 7, 1950 it was ratified by a 3 to 1 margin by the electorate at the general election.

An informal meeting of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention was called by Governor Samuel W. King on November 12, 1955 to discuss the matter of reapportionment. A resolution was passed requesting Congress to amend the Hawaiian Organic Act "so as to reconstitute the Legislature of the Territory of Hawaii along the lines set forth in the proposed Constitution for the State of Hawaii."

Public Law 86-3, which admitted Hawaii into the Union, made three changes in the proposed constitution: 1) deleted Palmyra from the proposed state boundaries, 2) sti­pulated that provisions of the Hawaiian Homes Commission could be changed only with the consent of Congress, and 3) reduced to one representative, Hawaii's delegation in the House of Representatives. It also required that the electorate approve the changes made in the proposed state constitution. A three-question plebescite was conducted in the primary election on June 27, 1959, and all three questions were approved. With the signing of the statehood proclamation by President Eisenhower on August 21, 1959, the state constitution went into effect.

Advisory Study Commission on Water Resources

  • Corporate body
  • 1982-1985

The Advisory Study Commission on Water Resources (ASCWR) was established by Act 170, Session Laws of Hawaii, 1982.
The Legislature found that the State, pursuant to Article XI, section 7, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii, had an obligation to protect, control and regulate the use of Hawaii's water resources for the benefit of its people by establishing policies, criteria and procedures related to water use, quality, conservation. The Legislature further found that formulation and enactment of a state water code was the means by which it would meet its constitutional obligation. It established ASCWR to begin the process which would result in enactment of the water code.
ASCWR had two purposes: to carefully and comprehensively review the various issues relating to Hawaii's water resources, including existing relevant laws and rules, and to formulate a proposed water code.
Act 170 specified the intent of the water code, listed 13 areas to be considered by ASCWR, specified the makeup of the 13-member Commission and placed it administratively under LRB. The Act provided funding and established dates by which the Commission was required to submit reports to the Legislature and the date upon which the Commission would cease to exist.
The Commission first met in September, 1982, and met at approximately monthly intervals thereafter. The Commission early on hired a consultant to do the detail work of researching and drafting the water code, while the Commission exercised oversight of the process. Eventually the draft code reaching a point where it was suitable for public review and comment. To accomplish this, the Commission announced and conducted informational public meetings and public hearings, on Oahu and all the neighbor islands except Kaho‘olawe and Ni‘ihau, at which public testimony was received. The Commission further revised the draft code based on public input and submitted the final draft as a part of their report to the Legislature in January 14, 1985.
The Commission held its last meeting on April 19, 1985, and ceased to exist on April 22, 1985. The state water code, as recommended by the Commission to the Legislature, was, after going through and being modified by the legislative process, eventually enacted into law as Act 45, Session Laws of Hawaii, 1987.

Alexander Adams

  • Person
  • 1780-1871

1780 born in Scotland
1815 arrived Hawai'i, friend of Kamehameha I and John Young
1817 captain of brig KAAHUMANU on voyage to Canton.
Pilot, Port of Honolulu, post held nearly 50 years
1820-1841 Harbormaster of Honolulu Harbor

Alfred Caldwell

  • Person
  • 1817-06-04 / 1868-05-03

August 12, 1861 named U.S. Consul to the Hawaiian Kingdom by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Arrived in Honolulu October 27, 1861 on bark COMET.

Alfred Wellington Carter

  • Person
  • 1867-04-22 / 1949-04-27

Mr. Carter was born in Honolulu on April 22, 1867, the son of Samuel Morrill Carter and Harriet Layman Carter. His grandfather, Captain Joseph O. Carter, came to the Hawaiian Islands from New England in the 1820s. He married Edith Millicent Hartwell, daughter of Judge and Mrs. Alfred S. Hartwell, on October 12, 1895.

Mr. Carter was educated in Honolulu schools, until 14 or 15, when he went to work for the late Charles Reed Bishop in the Bishop Bank. He was later employed in various departments of the government until 1891, when he entered the Yale Law School. He completed his law course in two years and was graduated in 1893. He returned to Honolulu and practiced law. He later served as deputy attorney general. From January 11, 1896 to November 1, 1897, he served as a Judge of the First Circuit Court. In addition to his law practice, he became interested in various business enterprises, serving as a director of several corporations. He was among the organizers of several, including the Molokai Ranch, Hilo Railroad Company, Olaa Sugar Company, and the Hawaii Meat Company. He had served as president of the Hawaii Meat Company continuously since its incorporation in 1909, except for the year 1917.

On September 25, 1899, he was appointed guardian of the estate of Thelma K. Parker and began his association with Parker Ranch which was to become his life work.

Mr. Carter passed away on April 22, 1949 in Honolulu.

Audit Division

  • Corporate body
  • 1959

The Audit Division was established with the Department of Accounting and General Service in 1959, under the Reorganization Act of 1959, Act 1, Second Special Session.

Prior to statehood, Hawaii had a single auditor who performed pre- and post-audit of government accounts and agencies. After statehood, pre- and post-audit responsibilities were separated. The comptroller, head of Department of Accounting and General Services, performs pre-audit of state agencies’ accounts and provides accounting assistance to the agencies. The legislative auditor performs post-audits of state agencies, makes recommendations for improvements, and reports to the legislature.

Board of Barbers

  • Corporate body
  • 1947-05-29

The Board of Barbers was established on May 29, 1947.

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