Action Alert: HB3348

[histori...@gmail.com]

Aloha,
The House Committee on Finance has scheduled a hearing on HB 3348,
which would provide state funds to match private sector contributions
to establish a Hawai'i Preservation Fund for grants to preservation
projects in the state. Please submit testimony to the Finance
Committee meeting on Thursday, Feb. 21, 1:00 p.m., in Room 308.

Testimony may be submitted in ONE of the following ways:
PAPER: 2 copies to Room 306 in the State Capitol. It is required
that the copies be on one side of an 8 1/2 " X 11" sheet;
FAX: For comments less than 5 pages in length, transmit to
586-6001 (Oahu) or 1-800-535-3859 (Neighbor Islands);
OR
EMAIL: For comments less than 5 pages in length, transmit to
FINtes...@Capitol.hawaii.gov.

The hearing notice is available at
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/hearingnotices/FIN_02-21-08_4_.htm.
The bill is available at http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/Bills/HB3348_HD1_.pdf
Sample testimony is pasted below for your convenience, but feel free
to personalize it.

Thank you for your help on this measure.

Aloha,
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: FINtes...@Capitol.hawaii.gov

To: Representative Marcus R. Oshiro,
Chair
Representative Marilyn B. Lee, Vice Chair
Committee on Finance
From:

Committee Date: Thursday, February 21, 2008
1:00 pm
Conference Room 308
Subject: Support of HB3348 HD1, Relating to
Historic Preservation

I am writing in support of HB3348 HD1, which would capitalize a
Hawai'i Preservation Fund with Historic Hawai'i Foundation, in
association with the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP),
up to $500,000 as matched by private sector contributions.

HB3348 HD1 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.

These are the goals for the Hawai'i Preservation Fund: 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 HD1 to capitalize the Hawai'i Preservation Fund.