HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	175
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

recognizing the importance of 21st century data governance for fact-based policymaking.

 

 

 

        WHEREAS, the World Health Organization identifies health as a fundamental human right; and

 

        WHEREAS, Native Hawaiians are the native people of Hawaii and maintained a once thriving population, estimated to be over one million inhabitants, whose land and resource management practices allowed them to live harmoniously with their environment; and

 

        WHEREAS, the arrival of westerners caused a shift in this balance, resulting in the erosion and eventual loss of Native Hawaiian governance over Hawaii's land sand resources; and

 

        WHEREAS, a series of epidemics from foreign diseases contributed significantly to the historic decline of the Native Hawaiian population and the generational trauma that Native Hawaiians are still healing from today; and

 

        WHEREAS, the decimation of the Native Hawaiian population, the dispossession and disconnection of Native Hawaiians from their lands, and the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom resulted in further historical injustices and systemic inequities that continue to impact the Native Hawaiian community; and

 

        WHEREAS, in recognition of the historical injustices and ongoing inequities faced by Native Hawaiians, the Hawaii State Constitution and Hawaii Revised Statutes established the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as an agency dedicated to bettering the conditions of Native Hawaiians; and

        WHEREAS, the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act further acknowledges the poor health status of the Native Hawaiian population, and established Papa Ola L  kahi and the Native Hawaiian Health Care System; and

 

        WHEREAS, section 226-20, Hawaii Revised Statutes, acknowledges the social determinants of health that influence Native Hawaiian health and expresses the State's commitment to reducing these health disparities for Native Hawaiians and other groups through a social determinants of health approach; and

 

        WHEREAS, to best accomplish the Hawaii State Planning Act's objective of the "elimination of health disparities by identifying and addressing social determinants of health," timely, clear, and detailed information on social determinants such as housing, employment, health outcomes, and other factors is critical; and

 

        WHEREAS, the federal Office of Management and Budget Statistical Policy Directive 15 (OMB-15) established the Racial and Ethnic Standards for Data Collection to disaggregate Polynesians, Micronesians, and Melanesians from Asians, creating "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" as a separate category; and

 

        WHEREAS, the separation of "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" from the "Asian" category was and remains critical to informing policymaking and interventions that directly and effectively target health and associated disparities and inequities facing the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities; and

 

        WHEREAS, the OMB-15 federal directive allows states to create additional subcategories that further disaggregates the seven federal categories for their own state purposes and allows states to use existing data collection systems for race and ethnicity; provided such data can be aggregated by the seven federal categories; and

 

        WHEREAS, Hawaii is among one of few states to further disaggregate Native Hawaiians from Pacific Islanders in certain agencies; data collection and processing practices, which has contributed significantly to efforts to understand and effectively respond to certain impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; and

 

        WHEREAS, available information indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in substantial, varied, and respectively unique ways, and exacerbated their pre-pandemic health and associated socioeconomic disparities; and

 

        WHEREAS, there continue to be substantial data gaps regarding unemployment rates, infection trends, housing and social services needs, law enforcement interactions, and other pandemic-related outcomes specific to Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and other vulnerable communities who may desperately need targeted and data-informed relief to address their health and health-associated needs; and

 

        WHEREAS, the unavailability of timely, clear, and detailed data, and the lack of consistent data collection, processing, retention, sharing, and governance practices in critical government agencies, have stymied efforts by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Papa Ola L  kahi; and groups such as the Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Hawaii COVID-19 Response, Recovery, and Resilience Team to identify, develop, and advocate for effective and targeted policies and interventions to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and social determinants of health of the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in Hawaii; and

 

        WHEREAS the lack of timely, clear, and detailed data on Native Hawaiians experiencing challenges in areas such as employment, education, domestic violence, and incarceration have long hindered the efforts of state agencies, including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, to address systemic inequities and the ongoing legacies of historical injustices and generational trauma; and

 

        WHEREAS, the recovery and resilience of our Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and overall communities are dependent upon timely, clear, and detailed data that consistently disaggregates Native Hawaiians from Pacific Islanders in order to better advance the State's public health and social determinants of health goals much more effectively and efficiently in the twenty-first century; 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 this body recognizes the importance of updating our state data governance models in order to facilitate effective and efficient fact-based policymaking in the twenty-first century; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body recognizes the importance of detailed and disaggregated data, including data that disaggregates Native Hawaiians from Pacific Islanders, in pandemic response and recovery efforts for these communities and for the State as a whole; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body urges the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of Human Services, Judiciary, and county police departments to compile and share existing and disaggregated data on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the general public in an expeditious manner; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body urges the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of Human Services, Judiciary, and county police departments to work with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Hawaii COVID   19 Response, Recovery, and Resilience Team to develop procedures and agreements for improving data collection, processing, retention, governance, and sharing with respect to Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and other relevant demographics, and report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is urged to establish a Task Force on twenty-first Century Data Governance, consisting of the Director of the Office of Planning, Chief Information Officer of the Office of Enterprise Technology Services, Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, or their designated representatives, and other relevant members to be identified by the Task Force, to assess the current data collection, processing, retention, and sharing procedures, needs, and challenges across state agencies and submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chief Justice of the Judiciary, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Director of Health, Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, Director of Human Services, Director of the Office of Planning, Chief Information Officer of the Office of Enterprise Technology Services, chiefs of police of each of the county police departments, and co-leaders of the Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Hawaii COVID   19 Response, Recovery, and Resilience Team.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:  

Legislature; Data Governance