Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 6, 1 June 2005 — Only a few Hawaiian measures pass session [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Only a few Hawaiian measures pass session

By Derek Ferrar This year's legislative session turned out to be a fairly slow one for bills directly related to Hawaiian issues. When the final gavel eame down on the session in early May, just three of the 23 measures originally proposed by OHA had been passed, along with a handful of other bills impacting Hawaiians. "I think the Legislature this year was preoccupied by taxation and other matters," said OHA Administrator Clyde Nāmu'o, "so there wasn't a real focus on Hawaiian issues." Nāmu'o said, however, that he was pleased with the bills that did

pass, including an expanded OHA budget bill, a measure giving the agency greater fiscal autonomy and a bill that will provide dedicated funding for the conservation of critical "legacy lands." Gov. Linda Lingle has until June 27 to veto any of the measures, otherwise they will pass into law automatically on July 12, with or without her signature. Here's a rundown on the outcomes of some of the key OHA bills and other measures: OHA budget The Legislature approved a two-year

budget request from OHA that included a substantial increase in funding for the Hawaiian social and educational services that the agency currently contracts through Alu Like, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. and the Nā Pua Noe'au program for gifted and talented Hawaiian students. The catch was that, beginning in July 2007, those contracts will have to go through a time-consuming competitive bidding process, instead of being directly allocated to those providers as they have been in the past. "I'm very pleased that we were able to secure a significant increase in funding for Hawaiian services," Nāmu'o said. "Having to go through procurement for them in the second year is going to take a little more time and effort, but I'm hopeful that there will be no disruption in services to the Hawaiian community." The budget approved by the Legi slature provides OHA with approximately $3 million a year in state funds and another

$3 million in public land trust matching funds. The remainder of the agency's annual budget is made up of trust funds derived from ceded-land revenues. Fiscal autonomy Also passed was a bill that will allow OHA to issue its own checks and payments, rather than having to go through the added bureaucracy of the state's financial system. "This bill is important because it reinforces the idea that the formation of a Native Hawaiian governing entity really is on the horizon," Nāmu'o said. "It underscores the fact that OHA is really a transitional agency whose assets will transfer over to the Hawaiian governing body onee it is formed, and being in a plaee where we are independent of the state in terms of our fiscal responsibilities would make that transition mueh easier." Nāmu'o said OHA could begin See LEGISLATION on page 4

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LEGISLATION from page 1 phasing in the new fiscal procedures by the beginning of next year. Legacy lands The Legislature took a bold step toward the conservation of fragile native habitats by setting aside a portion of the conveyance tax paid on high-priced real-estate transactions to fund protection of "legacy lands." Such lands include the state's Natural Area Reserve System, whieh contains many of the most intact native ecosystems under state control, and whieh are located primarily on ceded lands. OHA was part of a "Common Sense Conservation" coalition that pushed for this and other environmental measures. Non-OHA bills Other successful Hawaiian-related measures that were separate from OHA's bill package included: • Burial violation penalties. Under this bill, people who knowingly alter or destroy burial sites would face criminal penalties of up to $25,000 per offense and up to a year in jail. The proposed criminal penalties would be in addition to existing civil and administrative fines of up to $10,000. • Hawaiian homestead inheritance. Passage of this bill allows Hawaiian homesteaders to designate a sibling who is at least 1/4 Hawaiian to inherit their Home Lands lease. • Teacher incentives. With teacher shortages creating a statewide crisis, this measure will provide financial and other assistance for prospective teachers. OHA supported a similar measure because of its ability to help under-represented members of Hawai'i's teaching population, particularly at Hawaiian immersion and culture-based charter schools. • Akaka Bill. The Legislature passed a resolution reaffirming its support of the federal Akaka Bill, whieh would extend official

U.S. political recognition to Native Hawaiians. • DLNR audil. OHA supported a resolution calling for an overall audit of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, and the agency's trustees also wrote a letter to the governor detailing their concerns about how the department had been running, particularly in regard to transfers of ceded lands. In the end, only a substantially amended version of the resolution passed. But as a result of the letter, Nāmu'o said, OHA officials now meet monthly with DLNR Director Peter Young to discuss such issues. "OHA is now notified of any action that affects ceded lands," he said, "so I think there's been a very positive outcome from us taking a position on how DLNR runs." Ceded Iands Onee again, the Legislature failed to act on a measure that would clarify the technical definition of ceded lands to help resolve the long-running dispute over exactly what revenues from these lands are due to OHA for the betterment of Hawaiians. "OHA has put in a bill on this every year since 2001, when the state Supreme Court sent us back to the Legislature with this issue, and eaeh time they have failed to address it," Nāmu'o said. "At this point, I think we'll just have to wait and see how discussions between OHA and the executive branch pan out. Hopefully, we'll have a new proposal for the next session." Lawmakers also declined to act on a bill that would have prohibited the state from selling, trading or otherwise disposing of ceded lands without the consent of OHA's trustees. Land and water boards Also failing to advance were four bills that would have given OHA's trustees input into the governor's

appointments to the Land Use Commission, the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Commission on Water Resource Management and the coastal zone management advisory board. "There was opposition from the executive branch on this," Nāmu'o said of the measures, "so I think we'll need to spend some time with the governor to see whether there is eommon ground. Even if it can't be based on OHA's input, there has to be another way to make sure that there is a Hawaiian voice on those boards and commissions." Hawaiian cultural center Although OHA did not receive funds it requested to explore the building of a Hawaiian cultural center and OHA headquarters, Nāmu'o said the agency is proceeding with preliminary planning on its own, and will likely be requesting assistance with the project again next year. In a separate measure, the Legislature did free up land that could be used for the center. Shoreline certification OHA joined with environmental groups in seeking improvedprotections from shoreline development, whieh did not pass. However, the state has decided on its own to adopt an important aspect of the measure - hiring a shoreline certification specialist to help ensure consistent application of existing laws. Nāmu'o said that OHA will also be participating in a future shoreline certification conference that should help resolve some of the issues. Charter schools Several OHA bills seeking to support and increase the number of public charter schools also failed to advance, but some elements were adopted into other education measures. Nāmu'o said OHA remains committed to supporting charter schools, especially those based on Hawaiian language and culture. U