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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.

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.

At the time of the 1973 Commission, Article Ill, Section 4 of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii prescribed the manner in which the members of the Commission were to be appointed. Pursuant · to that section, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the leader of the minority party members of the Senate, and the leader of the minority party members of the House of Representatives, all of the State Legislature, each appointed two persons to the Commission.
In 1973, the eight members of the Commission were:
Appointing Authority / Commission Members Appointed
President of the Senate / Edward DeMello, Leslie Takao
Speaker of the House / Ben F. Kaito, Alvin T. Shim
Minority party leader, Senate / C.F. Damon, Jr., Ambrose J. Rosehill
Minority party leader, House / V. Thomas Rice, Hannibal Tavares
All of these members were appointed on or before March I, 1973 as prescribed by the State Constitution. The eight members in turn selected Yukio Naito as the ninth member and chairman of the Commission. This selection was made on March 21, 1973, within the time period prescribed by the State Constitution.
Although not required by State Constitution or statute, the Commission heard testimony during public hearings, and received written testimony. Hearings were held in April and June, 1973.

The Terms of the State Constitution in 1973 compelled the Commission to complete its work within 120 days after appointment of all Commission members. The Commission issues its final report dated July 16, 1973 to Lieutenant Governor George R. Ariyoshi. Among other things, the Commission determined that the constitutional deadline was too onerous, and, in its report, submitted several recommendations to allow public hearings and other work of the Commission within a larger period of time. As amended, the current State Constitution allows 105 days for the Commission to complete its tasks.