Bill Text: HI HB2486 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To The Law Of The Splintered Paddle.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-28 - Referred to HHH, JHA, referral sheet 3 [HB2486 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2022-HB2486-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2486 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE LAW OF THE SPLINTERED PADDLE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that King Kamehameha I enacted ke kānāwai māmalahoe, or the law of the splintered paddle, to protect his people by proclaiming that all innocent persons, especially the elderly and the youth, shall be allowed to lay safely on the side of the road without fear of harm or attack. This law was a symbol of the importance Native Hawaiians placed on caring for others and ensuring the safety of society's most vulnerable people and has endured for generations.
The legislature further finds that the law of
the splintered paddle specifically states:
"O my people
Honor thy gods
Respect alike (the rights of)
Men great and humble
See to it that our aged
Our women and our children
Lie down to sleep by the roadside
Without fear or harm.
Disobey, and die."
The legislature further finds that the law of the splintered paddle is enshrined in article IX, section 10, of the Hawaii State Constitution, which is both the supreme law of the State of Hawaii and the document from which all other sources of authority within the State are defined. The constitution specifically declares that the law of the splintered paddle "shall be a unique and living symbol of the State's concern for public safety". The legislature believes that the State and each of its political subdivisions must honor and uphold this most important and eternal provision of its Constitution.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to uphold the law of the splintered paddle, as enshrined in the Hawaii State Constitution, by prohibiting any county from disturbing any person lying on the roadside of public lands in safety.
SECTION 2. Chapter 46, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part V to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§46- Law of the splintered paddle; prohibition on
disturbing a person lying by the roadside in safety. (a)
In accordance with article IX, section 10
of the Hawaii constitution, no county shall enact any ordinance that prohibits a
person from sitting or lying by the roadside of any public lands; provided that:
(1) This section shall not prohibit a duly empowered
county official from removing a person from a roadside if conditions exist that
would place the person at risk of immediate bodily injury; and
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to authorize
any official to engage in any unprovoked assault of, threats to, or harassment of
the person who is sitting or lying down.
(b) As used in this section, "by the roadside" includes any sidewalk, as that term is defined in section 291C-1."
SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Counties; Ke Kānāwai Māmalahoe; Law of the Splintered Paddle
Description:
Prohibits a county from enacting any ordinance that prohibits a person from lying by the roadside in safety in accordance with the law of the splintered paddle.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
