The list of annual state holidays in Hawaii could grow by one under legislation that easily passed a milestone last week.
State senators voted 25-0 to approve and send to the House of Representatives a bill that would make Nov. 28 La Ku‘oko‘a, or Hawaiian Independence Day, as Hawaii’s 14th official state holiday.
The Legislature in 2023 passed a bill to designate Nov. 28 as La Ku‘oko‘a to celebrate a historical recognition of the kingdom of Hawaii’s independence dating to 1843. But that measure, which became Act 11, did not make the day a state holiday.
Now state lawmakers, via Senate Bill 614, are considering elevating La Ku‘oko‘a to an official holiday.
“We celebrate Fourth of July, American Independence Day, as an official state holiday,” Sen. Kurt Fevella, a Republican who introduced the bill with two Democratic colleagues, Sens. Stanley Chang and Carol Fukunaga, said in the Senate chamber preceding Tuesday’s vote.
“It’s a day when 13 American colonies separated from Great Britain,” said Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Ocean Pointe-Iroquois Point). “But why haven’t we celebrated when Hawaii became a sovereign nation as a state holiday? … Colleagues, let’s stand together for the Independence Day of our Hawaii nei.”
Testimony on SB 614 has been near-unanimously supportive, with written comments from about 35 people, the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs.
Reese Flores, a Native Hawaiian student at the University of Hawaii, told two Senate committees during a Feb. 13 public hearing that La Ku‘oko‘a is an important part of Hawaiian history that deserves recognition.
“We should be reminded that our ancestors fought and sought independence to keep our nation sovereign,” she said.
On Nov. 28, 1843, Great Britain and France formally recognized, under a joint Anglo-Franco Proclamation, the kingdom of Hawaii as an independent nation — 50 years before the 1893 overthrow of the monarchy that preceded Hawaii’s 1898 annexation by the United States.
The intent of SB 614 is stated to “recognize the compelling history of Hawaiian independence and memorialize the injustice of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.”
According to OHA, La Ku‘oko‘a, which literally means Independence Day, was celebrated as a national public holiday under the kingdom of Hawaii and then later by a provisional government, the republic of Hawaii and the territory of Hawaii.
OHA said in written testimony that La Ku‘oko‘a merits joining Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana‘ole Day, celebrated annually on March 26, and King Kamehameha I Day, observed annually on June 11, as Hawaiian cultural state holidays instituted by Hawaii lawmakers.
Hawaii also observes Statehood Day as an official holiday annually on the third Friday in August to mark its 1959 admission as the country’s 50th state.
Beighlee Vidinha, a Native Hawaiian student at UH, said during the Feb. 13 hearing that La Ku‘oko‘a is part of the identity of Hawaiians as sovereign people before identities as American citizens.
“If we can honor Statehood Day and American Independence Day as state or federal holidays, we can honor La Ku‘oko‘a, an important indication of our independence and sovereignty as people,” she said.
Kimmer Horsen testified at the same hearing to say in part that La Ku‘oko‘a as a state holiday would help educate children, newcomers and tourists about Hawaii’s history.
“A bill for terminating Statehood Day would also be wise, as a suggestion,” she said. “This is a step in the right direction for true Hawaiian kingdom independence.”
The only person to testify against the bill was Kenneth Conklin, a longtime opponent of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement.
Conklin, in written testimony, characterized the bill as using a “182-year-old historical footnote” to give a small boost to “Hawaiian pride” at a large cost in money and undelivered government services.
Luis Salaveria, director of the state Department of Budget and Finance, said in written testimony for a Feb. 28 Senate committee hearing on the bill that the loss of state labor and productivity for one day is valued at about $18.3 million from payroll expenses, including Social Security, Medicare and pension costs.
Wilbert Holck, chief negotiator with the state Office of Collective Bargaining, said in written testimony that enacting a law to make La Ku‘oko‘a a state holiday would have no effect on public workers unless such a day off work were negotiated and agreed upon mutually.
Nov. 28 is already a state holiday every five to six years when it aligns with Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November. That happened in 2019 and 2024, and will happen again next in 2030.
