Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 1, Number 2, 1 September 1981 — Some Facts On The Native Hawaiian Study Commission [ARTICLE]

Some Facts On The Native Hawaiian Study Commission

What is the Native Hawaiian Study Commission? On December 20, 1980, Congress enacted Public Law 96-656 establishing the Native Hawaiian Study Commission, a nine-member board that is legislatively mandated "to conduct a study of culture, needs and concerns of the Native Hawaiians." How are the members of the Commission appointed? The Act states that the President shall appoint the nine members of this Commission and designate the Chairman and Vice-Chairman at the time of the appointment. Who are the Commissioners? President Reagan has appointed 8 members to the Commission. This Commission is the second one appointed. President Jimmy Carter appointed 9 commissioners on January 20, 1981, but around the 10th of March, Prēsident Reagan sent letters to all of them "terminating" the appointments. Are there any residents of Hawai'i on the Commission? The Act states that the Commission shall have not more than three members who are residents of Hawai'i. The 3 members from Hawai'i are all part Hawaiian and active in the Hawaiian community. What is the timetable for the Commission? The dead!ine for calling the first meeting of the Commission was to be not more than 90 days from the enactment of the law on December 20, 1980. Thus, March 20, 1981 should have been the latest date that the Commission could have convened. Now that the deadline is past, the next important date is the

publishing of the draft report a year from the first meeting, whieh was on September 23, 1981. The Commission then has nine months from the publication of the draft report to issue a final report. Sixty days fol!owing the submission of the report, the Commission shali cease to exist. What are the duties of the Commission? 1. The Commission must conduct hearings that it considers appropriate and must provide public notice of such hearings to the publie. They must also do whatever they consider necessary to obtain full public participation in these hearings. 2. Within a year from the date of its first meeting, the Commission must publish a draft report of the findings of the study and distribute copies of the report to appropriate Federal and State agencies, Native Hawaiian organizations, and upon request, to members of the public. The Commission must then solicit written comments from those organizations or individuals who got copies of the draft report. 3. After taking into consideration any comments submitted to the Commission, the Commission must issue a final report of the results of its study. Copies of this final report must be submitted to the President and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives. 4. The Commission must make recommendations to the Congress based on its findings and eonelusions.