HHF Action Alert: Testimony needed for HB3348

[histori...@gmail.com]

Aloha,

This week at the State Legislature was the deadline for any bill to be
approved in its chamber of origin and cross over to the other
chamber. Many historic preservation bills did not meet the deadlines
and are dead for the remainder of the session. To see the current
status of preservation bills, please visit the "Legislative Session"
link at www.historichawaii.org

One of Historic Hawai'i Foundation's priority bills that is still
alive is HB3348, which will provide matching funds for private
contributions to HHF's Hawai'i Preservation Fund. The House approved
the bill and it is now being considered by the Senate. It is
scheduled for a hearing at the Economic Development and Taxation
Committee on Tuesday, March 11, 1:15 p.m., Conference Room 224.

Please submit testimony in support of HB3348. Sample testimony is
pasted below for your convenience, but it can be personalized.

Testimony should be submitted at least 24 hours prior to the hearing.
Any testimony received after 6:00 PM the day before the hearing will
not be distributed to the Committee or available to the public until
after the hearing ends. As a result, the Committee will not be able
to consider written testimony received after 6:00 PM in its decisions.

* In person: 1 copy of their testimony to the committee
clerk, Room 216, State Capitol.

* By fax: Testimony may be faxed if less than 5 pages in
length, to the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms Office at 586-6659 or
1-800-586-6659 (toll free for neighbor islands), at least 24 hours
prior to the hearing. When faxing, please indicate to which committee
the testimony is being submitted and the date and time of the hearing.

* By Email: Testimony may be emailed if less than 5 pages in
length, to test...@capitol.hawaii.gov. Please indicate to which
committee the testimony is being submitted and the date and time of
the hearing. Email sent to individual offices or any other Senate
office will not be accepted.

The hearing notice is available at
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/hearingnotices/EDT_03-11-08_1_.htm

The text of the bill is available at http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/Bills/HB3348_HD2_.pdf

Thank you for your interest in and support for historic preservation.

Mahalo,
Kiersten

Kiersten Faulkner, AICP
Executive Director
Historic Hawai'i Foundation
680 Iwilei Road Suite 690
Honolulu, HI 96817
808-523-2900 (tel)
808-523-0800 (fax)
Kier...@historichawaii.org
www.historichawaii.org


VIA EMAIL: test...@capitol.hawaii.gov

To: Senator Carol Fukunaga, Chair
Senator Will Espero, Vice Chair
Committee on Economic Development and Taxation
From:

Committee Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
1:15 pm
Conference Room 224
Subject: Support of HB3348 HD2, Relating to
Historic Preservation

I am writing in support of HB3348 HD2, which would capitalize a
Hawai'i Preservation Fund with Historic Hawai'i Foundation, in
association with the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP),
with up to $500,000 as matched by private sector contributions.

HB3348 HD2 will help to establish a permanent Hawai'i Preservation
Fund. The State funding will be leveraged by private contributions.
Creating a perpetual endowment for the Hawai'i Preservation Fund will
create a dedicated funding stream for preservation projects in the
state, which will then provide a catalyst for preservation activities
and leverage additional investment from private sources.

The goals for the Hawai'i Preservation Fund are to provide both
technical assistance and increased resources to caretakers and owners
of Hawai'i's historic sites, to make preservation accessible and more
financially viable. Additional benefits from the Hawai'i Preservation
Fund include the advantage for heritage tourism, which is traveling to
experience the places, artifacts and activities that authentically
represent the stories and people of the past and present. Heritage
tourists include travelers who incorporate at least one visit to a
historic site or landmark among other activities, and also a smaller
subset of visitors whose primary reason for traveling is to visit
historic places. Economic impacts of heritage tourism go beyond the
direct expenditures of tourists. Each dollar spent at a hotel,
restaurant or retail shop circulates in the economy as an indirect
expenditure for wages, supplies and contracts. Past studies have
shown that heritage travelers spend more, stay longer and return more
often.

Please support HR3348 HD2 to capitalize the Hawai'i Preservation Fund.