Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 2, 1 February 2006 — Ceded lands deal reached [ARTICLE]

Ceded lands deal reached

By KWŪ staff After more than a year of discussions, OHA and Gov. Linda Lingle have reached an agreement on legislation relating to OHA's share of ineome from the public land trust, made up of Hawaiian Kingdom lands that were "ceded" to the U.S. at annexation and later passed to the state government. By law, OHA is supposed to receive a portion of the state's ineome from these lands to benefrt Hawaiians, but the exact amount due to OHA has long been a matter of dispute. If approved by the state Legislature and the OHA Board of Trustees, the proposal announced

on Jan. 26 would establish OHA's portion of public land trust revenue at $15.1 million annually, as of July 1, 2005 - unless changed in the future by the Legislature. Presently, OHA receives approximately $10 million annually as its share of the public land trust proceeds. The governor and OHA have also agreed that the proposed legislation should provide for an additional $17.5 million to be paid to OHA for the period from July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2005, reflecting additional receipts that Lingle believes are fair and appropriate to pay OHA. The agreement does not cover other "past due" amounts. Both

OHA and the governor anticipate further negotiations and the possibility of presenting a more eomprehensive agreement for consideration by the Legislature in the future. "I am very pleased with this agreement, whieh will assure additional funding for OHA and its Hawaiian benefrciaries going into the future," said OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona. "I would like to commend Governor Lingle for her willingness to tackle this very diffrcult and complex issue, and I urge the Legislature to respond favorably to legislation that will give substance to this agreement. This is a collective example of

being 'onipa'a, or steadfast in what is right." Lingle called the agreement on revenue legislation "the right and fair thing to do," and praised the efforts of the negotiating teams on both sides. "This has been a diffrcult undertaking, and there is still more we ean accomphsh," she said. "[But], like Chair Apoliona, I too am pleased with the progress we have made and urge the

Legislature to codify this agreement." As Ka Wai Ola went to press, a bill containing the proposed revenue formula had just passed frrst reading in the state House of Representatives, and the members of OHA's negotiating team were scheduled to recommend formal approval of the agreement at the Board of Trustees meeting on Feb. 2. S

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