Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 6, 1 June 2002 — Legislature comes up short on OHA interim funding bill [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Legislature comes up short on OHA interim funding bill

On September 12, 2001 the Hawai'i Supreme Court affirmed the State's obligation to pay OHA its pro rata share of revenues derived from the ceded lands, At the same time, the Court threw out Act 304 whieh was the law that previously laid out how the State was to calculate the pro-rata share for OHA, That left a void in exactly how the state will honor its constitutional duty to pay OHA its share of the ceded land revenues, To fill the void, the Court directed the State Legislature to find a politieal solution and eome up with a law to fulfill its obligation to OHA aud the Hawaiian people, The Court, in all its wisdom, pass the buck back to the State Legislature hoping that they would act responsibly by creating a law to remedy the longstanding ceded lands revenue disputes, Perhaps the Court thought that the Legislature would see the value in keeping its promise to the Hawaiiau people, Maybe the Court felt the legislature

could rise above the political undercurrents aud settle the issue, Early in the session the Legislature entertained a bill that provided OHA "interim revenues" from the ceded lauds, That bill would do two things, First, it would maintain a minimum payment of ceded laud revenues to OHA in eomplianee with the State Constitution, Second, the interim revenues would jump start negotiations with OHA and the State so that a revenue formula could be created without threatening OHA's trust assets and duties, Unfortunately, the Legislature failed to pass the bill, Members of the House and Senate spoke out during floor debate and made it clear that the 2002 Legislature neglected their constitutional duty to support the Hawaiian people, Rep, Kahikina and Sens, Chun and English spoke in favor of the failed bill, Senator English's speech was especially moving when he said:

"With all due respect, I want to remind my colleagues that on September 12, 2001, when the Hawai'i Supreme Court repealed Act 304 depriving OHA of revenue under certain circumstances, it was also of the opinion that the state should pay OHA its pro rata share of revenue from the ceded lands of this State, The Supreme Court further said that it is up to the Legislature to develop another formula to provide revenue to OHA within legal guidelines ... key words here, Mr, President , , , develop another formula to provide revenue to OHA within legal guidelines, We have failed to do that, ,And in failing that responsibility, we have failed the native people of this land, "Mr, President, the Supreme Court did not say that the Legislature should punish OHA and not provide any funding at all, Yet in essence, that is exactly what has happened , , , OHA has successfully been cut out of the State budget.

OHA, the one agency of the State that is responsible to work for the betterment of Hawaiians and native Hawaiians, will receive no funds at all as a result of our work, "I find this extremely difficult to swallow, Have we finally said to the Hawaiian people, 'We will sell your culture to develop our weahh; we will take your land to build our fortunes; we will use your oceans in any way we please; we will continue to erase your history and traditions by destroying the infrastructure that supports you ... and we will start with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs right here in the legislative session of 2002', "Mr, Speaker, my disappointment is without bounds, To those of my colleagues who have tried to help my heartfelt mahalo a nui loa," he said, Even with the best intentions, the Legislature ultimately lacked the faith and willingness to honor its obligation to OHA and the Hawaiian people, ■

Colette Machado Trusfee, Moloka'i and Lāna'i