Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 5, 1 May 1988 — Chairman Cites Specific Reasons [ARTICLE]

Chairman Cites Specific Reasons

OHA Board Opposes Right-to-Sue Legislation

The Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs voted unanimously to oppose Right-to-Sue legislation being considered by the just concluded sesston of the Hawaii State Legislature. OHA Chairman Moses K. Keale Sr., in a letter hand delivered to members of the House-Senate Conference Committee Friday, Apr. 15, said that the measure under consideration at the time was unacceptable for the following seven specific reasons. 1. Native Hawaiian organizations, including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, must have the right to sue. Conference Draft 1 would allow only individuals to sue for class relief. This is illogical.

2. The Court should be authorized to provide individual relief or class relief, as is appropriate. 3. The holding of the Ahuna and Keaukaha I cases should not be overruled. That is, when making decisions, the commission and staff must act for the "sole benefit" of the beneficiary class without consideration of the publie. 4. The definitions of native Hawaiian and Hawaiian should not differ from existing definitions. In addition, any definitions should include the recent amendments to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, in particular Section 209. 5. The requirement of exhaustion of administra-

tive remedies is unfair because it is vague. 6. The statute of limitations for filing claims should be six years. 7. The right to sue must include a provision on retroactivity. "Finally," Keale pointed out, "the Board of Trustees is very concerned that there be absolutely no diminishing of benefits of any rights in the passage of any right to sue bill." In a separate letter, Keale informed Senator James Aki and members of his committee that the OHA board could not support SCR 205. That resolution called for "the investigation and resolution of problems and issues" relating to both the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust and the OHA Trust.