Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 8, 1 August 2010 — EA GOVERNANCE 2010 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

EA GOVERNANCE 2010 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

By Sterling Wong OHA Public Policy Advocate New state laws affecting Hawaiian issues will touch everything from ceded lands to heaeh access. Here is an update on the fate of the bills - including one veto of a kūpuna housing measure - that we highlighted in our June issue. HB 2561 SD1 - Lands eontrolled by the State Enacted as Act 56 HB 2845 HD1 SD1 CD1 - Statecontrolled lands; repurchased or foreclosed homes EnactedasAct 174 Passed in 2009, Act 176 allowed state agencies to sell or gift most puhlie land, regardless of its ceded lands status, as long as the proposed sale was approved by two-thirds of both chambers of the Legislature. Act 176 was part of the settlement agreement that ended OHA's 15-year-old lawsuit that sought to prohibit the state from alienating ceded lands until the Native Hawaiian people's unrelinquished claims to those lands are resolved. Enacted this year, Act 56 and Act 174 both narrow the scope of Act 176 by exempting the sale of certain state lands from the act's legislative approval process. The lands exempted are non-ceded lands conveyed to the University of Hawai'i after Dec. 31, 1989 (Act 56), and non-ceded lands intended for affordable housing that the Hawai'i Housing Finance and Development Corp. reacquired through foreclosure or buyback (Act 174). HB 1665 HD1 SD2 CD1- Governmentowneel Hawaiian fishponds; prohibition on sale Enacted without the governor's signature as Act 210

Act 210 bars the state from selling the fee interest in puhlie lands on whieh gov-emment-owned Hawaiian fishponds sit. For a community viewpoint on the new law, see the Community Forum at right. HB 1808 HD3 SD1 CD1 - Coastal areas; public access; beach transit corridors Enactedas Act160 Act 160 creates heaeh transit corridors along the shoreline that will be treated similarly to puhlie sidewalks in that they must be kept "passable and free" from the plants of private landowners. OHA supports this initiative because it will protect access along the shoreline, where many traditional Native Hawaiian customs, such as fishing and gathering, are practiced. SB 2169 SD2 HD2 CD1 - Possession, sale and distribution of shark fins Enactedas Act148 Act 148 establishes a prohibition on the possession, sale, trade or distribution of shark fins. Under the act, restaurants would have until July 1, 201 1, to sell their existing inventory of shark fins. OHA supports the act because sharks hold special significance for Native Hawaiians, as they are kinolau (the physical form) of Hawaiian gods, ancestral guardians or 'aumākua for various families and part of the genealogy of all Native Hawaiians through the Kumulipo.

HB 1818 HD2 SD2 CD1 - Corrections; rehabilitation; Native Hawaiians Enacted without the governor's signature as Act 193 Act 193 allows the Department of Puhlie Safety to offer programs in state correctional facilities that prepare prisoners for reintegration into the community by using, among other things, behavioral therapy and cultural interventions. These programs are intended to help prisoners, many of whomare Native Hawaiian, better manage their addiction and domestic violence problems. The govemor did not sign the bill because she noted that the department already has the authority to offer such programs and that the bill did not address funding for the programs. SB 2473 SD1 HD2 CD1 - Elderly housing; kūpuna; grandchildren Vetoed The bill would have allowed children under the age of 18 to live with their grandparents in state-operated elderly housing projects for up to three months during a verified family crisis, such as a parent's imprisonment or the abuse or abandonment of the child. Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed this bill because she said that the state already has procedures to manage the issue and that letting minors temporarily live in elderly homes could create liability and safety issues for the state. SB 2589 SD2 HD1 CD1 - Charter schools; omnibus Signedas Act144 Among other things, Act 144 requires the Department of Education to consider making the facilities of a puhlie school it is closing available for use by charter schools, a concept that originated from a bill OHA proposed. OHA believes this initiative will help resolve a major need of charter schools, many of whose campuses laek basic school facilities, such as a cafeteria, library or gym. ■

A new law allows cultural intervention and behavioral therapy programs in state correctional facilities. - Photo: KWO archive