Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 10, 1 October 2010 — 'Where does OHA stand?' [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'Where does OHA stand?'

At the request of OHA beneficiary, Kona Hema resident, former Hawaiian Homes Commissioner Dickie Nelson, the

following excerpts from an op ed authored by David Kimo Frankel, who is suing the State of Hawai'i on behalf of Dickie and five other Plaintiffs, is being shared with you: rTaking the State to court for refusing to fund DHHL sufficiently FACT: AsofJune30, 1978, there were approximately 5,769 people on the DHHL wait lists. As of June 30, 2007,

the number has grown to 23,668. FACT: As of the summer of 2008, 1,666 applicants had been on the wait lists for three decades or more. Over 8,000 have waited two decades or more. And over 15,000 have waited over 10 years. FACT: Since June 30, 2002, the number of people who were added to the DHHL wait lists eaeh fiscal year has been greater than the number of new homestead leases that DHHL awarded to native Hawaiians for that fiscal year. FACT: The State is no longer providing any general revenue funds for DHHL's administrative and operating costs. FACT: The State concedes that the DHHL has not received sufficient funding. FACT: DHHL has been forced to lease Hawaiian Home Lands to commereial entities in order to raise sufficient funds to provide homesteads to native Hawaiians. In 1978, the voters of this State amended our State Constitution to specifically prevent this from occurring. Article XII Section 1 of the Hawai'i State Constitution provides: "The legislature shall make sufficient sums available for the following purposes: (1) development of home, agriculture, farm and ranch lots; (2) home, agriculture, aquaculture, farmand ranch loans; (3) rehabilitation projects to include, but not limited to, educational, eeonomie, political, social and

cultural processes by whieh the general welfare and conditions of Hawaiians are thereby improved; (4) the administration and operating budget of the Department of Hawaiian

Home Lands; in furtherance of (1), (2), (3) and (4) herein, by appropriating the same in the manner provided by law." In passing this amendment to the Constitution, the Committee Report for the Convention states: "Your Committee proposal makes it expressly clear that the Legislature is to fund DHHL for purposes whieh reflect the spirit and intent of the Act. Your Committee

decided to no longer allow the legislature discretion in this area. "DHHL cannot afford to lease more acreage to the general puhlie for the purposes of generating ineome to aeeommodate a minimal employee level. It is clear to your Committee that the intent and spirit of the Act would be better served by releasing the department of its present burden to generate revenues through the general leasing of its lands. Your Committee decided that through legislative funding this dilemma would be resolved. In that manner more lands could be made available through the intended beneficiaries. (David FrankelAttorney for Plaintiffs Nelson, Chun, Akiona, Adams, Ioane & Apia versus the State of Hawai'i)." A hearing was held before the Intermediate Court of Appeals on Sept. 8, 2010, before Judges Nakamura, Foley and Fujise. A ruling is forthcoming and in anticipation of a favorable result Dickie Nelson's questions to me as OHA Trustee are: "Where is OHA in all of this? Where does OHA stand? What is its position on this matter?" Sadly, I did not have an answer for him but I will. OHA exists by Mandate and Mission "to better conditions for our people." Advocacy is one of our Strategic Directions under our Updated Strategic Plan. I am one voice of nine at the table but if "push comes to shove" I know where I will stand. ■

Rūbert K. Lindsey, Jr. TrustEE, Hawai'i