HCR76

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

76

THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP TO ASSESS THE STATUS OF ACT 14, SPECIAL SESSION LAWS OF hAWAII 1995.

 

 

 

        WHEREAS, when the United States Congress passed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 and set aside approximately 203,500 acres of public lands as Hawaiian home lands for the rehabilitation of native Hawaiians, the United States reaffirmed the trust responsibility it had assumed toward the Hawaiian people; and

 

        WHEREAS, when Congress enacted the Hawaii Admission Act in 1959, the State of Hawaii, in compliance with the Admission Act and as a compact between the State and the United States, adopted the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 as a law of the State through article XII of the Hawaii State Constitution, affirming the State's fiduciary duty to faithfully administer the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 on behalf of native Hawaiian beneficiaries; and

 

        WHEREAS, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, led by the Hawaiian Homes Commission, was established by the State of Hawaii to exercise the State's authorities and responsibilities under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920; and

 

        WHEREAS, the Legislature found that thousands of acres of Hawaiian home lands were allegedly used, disposed of, or withdrawn from the trust by territorial or state executive actions in contravention of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920; and

 

        WHEREAS, in light of these allegations and in an effort to reach a final resolution, the Legislature passed Act 14, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 1995 (Act 14), to provide for a full settlement of all land claims made on behalf of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust against the State between August 21, 1959, and July 1, 1988; and

 

        WHEREAS, Act 14 established the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust Fund and required the State to make twenty annual deposits of $30,000,000 or their discounted equivalent into the Fund; and

 

        WHEREAS, Act 14 directed that the proceeds deposited into the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust Fund were to be used by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for capital improvements and other purposes undertaken in furtherance of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, affirmed the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' fiduciary responsibility toward the Fund, and required the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to provide annual financial reports to the Legislature and to the beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust; and

 

        WHEREAS, among other actions, Act 14 also required the transfer of various state lands to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, compensation for all remaining confirmed uncompensated public uses of Hawaiian home lands, and the initiation of a land exchange to remedy uncompensated use of Hawaiian home lands for state roads and highways; and

 

        WHEREAS, over twenty-five years have passed since the enactment of Act 14 and despite these actions and assurances of fulfilling homestead obligations to native Hawaiian beneficiaries, the need for affordable housing remains great; and

 

        WHEREAS, thousands of native Hawaiian beneficiaries are still on the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' waitlist for residential, farming, and ranching homesteads; and

 

        WHEREAS, the existing status of Act 14 and whether its mandates to provide for a settlement of all state land claims for the benefit of native Hawaiians under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 have been fulfilled are unknown; and

 

        WHEREAS, since the enactment of Act 14 the federal government has promulgated regulations under 43 Code of Federal Regulations parts 47 and 48, which should be considered in fulfilling all aspects of Act 14, including the specific definition of native Hawaiian beneficiary associations and clarification that Congress recognizes three parties to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920: the State of Hawaii, the federal government, and native Hawaiian beneficiaries; now, therefore,

 

        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to convene a working group to assess the status of Act 14; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to comprise the following members:

 

        (1)   The Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, or the Chairperson's designee;

 

        (2)   The Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, or the Chairperson's designee;

 

        (3)   The Attorney General, or the Attorney General's designee;

 

        (4)   The Director of the Office of Planning, or the Director's designee;

 

        (5)   A member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

 

        (6)   A member appointed by the President of the Senate;

 

        (7)   A representative from the United States Department of the Interior or another appropriate federal department or agency;

 

        (8)   The Chairperson of the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations, a federally defined statewide beneficiary organization, or the Chairperson's designee;

        (9)   The Chairperson of the Association of Hawaiians for Homestead Lands, a federally defined statewide waitlist beneficiary organization, or the Chairperson's designee;

 

      (10)   A representative from a federally defined regional homestead association deemed necessary by the working group; and

 

      (11)   Any other members deemed necessary by the working group; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to be co-chaired by the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, or the Chairperson's designee, and the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, or the Chairperson's designee; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to identify:

 

        (1)   The requirements of Act 14;

 

        (2)   The requirements that have been fulfilled, including when and how they were fulfilled;

 

        (3)   Outstanding requirements that have not been fulfilled;

 

        (4)   The steps necessary to fulfil each outstanding requirement; and

 

        (5)   The annual revenues and expenditures from the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust Fund since 1995; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature and beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022; and

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, Attorney General, Director of the Office of Planning, Speaker of the House of Representatives, President of the Senate, Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, Chairperson of the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations, and Chairperson of the Association of Hawaiians for Homestead Lands.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Department of Land and Natural Resources; Working Group; Status of Act 14, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 1995