THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	163
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS to AMEND CERTAIN ACTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF BROADENING THE SCOPE OF HAWAIIANS SERVED BY THOSE ACTS.

 

 

        WHEREAS, pursuant to section 208 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, an original lessee of a tract of Hawaiian homestead lands shall be a native Hawaiian; and

 

        WHEREAS, pursuant to section 5(f) of the Act to Provide for the Admission of the State of Hawaii into the Union, P.L. 86-3, more commonly known as "The Admission Act", certain lands shall be held by the State for public purposes including the betterment of the conditions of native Hawaiians, as defined by the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920; and

 

        WHEREAS, section 201 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, defines a "native Hawaiian" as "any descendant of not less than one-half part of the blood of the races inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands previous to 1778"; and

 

        WHEREAS, pursuant to the existing provisions of section 209(a) of Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, upon the death of a homestead lessee, the lessee's interest may only vest in the lessee's husband, wife, child, grandchild, brother, or sister if the potential successor is at least one-quarter Hawaiian; and

 

        WHEREAS, a significant number of marriages occur between people of Hawaiian ancestry and people without Hawaiian ancestry, directly affecting generations of Hawaiians by reducing the blood quantum; and

 

        WHEREAS, the requirement that certain successors to a lease must have at least one-quarter blood quantum imposes a significant hardship on those lessees who are unable to assure transfer of lessee rights under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, to a relative of less than one-quarter Hawaiian blood; and

 

        WHEREAS, this congressionally established blood quantum requirement artificially bifurcates the indigenous people of Hawaii; and

 

        WHEREAS, a reduction in the required blood quantum for certain successors under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, is long overdue; and

 

        WHEREAS, certain lands used for the purposes of the Admission Act should be used for the betterment of the conditions of all persons of Hawaiian ancestry, regardless of blood quantum, so that the State may have more flexibility in providing services and benefits to the Hawaiian people; now, therefore,

 

        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the House of Representatives concurring, that the United States Congress is requested to amend the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, to provide that upon the death of a lessee, the lessee's interest may vest in the lessee's husband, wife, child, grandchild, brother, or sister if the potential successor is at least one-eighth Hawaiian; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Congress is requested to amend the Act to Provide for the Admission of the State of Hawaii into the Union to provide that certain lands, as specified in the Act, shall be held by the State for public purposes including the betterment of the conditions of all persons of Hawaiian ancestry, regardless of blood quantum; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, members of Hawaii's congressional delegation,

Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:  

Hawaiian Homes Commission Act; Admission Act; Lands; Quantum