Haw. Rev. Stat. § 6E-5: State historic preservation officer.

The governor shall appoint a state historic preservation officer, and may appoint the officer without regard to chapter 76, who shall be responsible for the comprehensive historic preservation program and who shall be the state liaison officer for the conduct of relations with the federal government and the respective states with regard to matters of historic preservation. The state historic preservation officer shall be appointed on the basis of professional competence and experience in the field of historic preservation and shall be placed in the department for the purposes of the state program.