Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 1, 1 January 1998 — OHA's Legislative Agenda [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA's Legislative Agenda

By Paula Durbin Īhe 1998 legislative session is scheduled to open on Jan. 21, but the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees has been at work since October on its legislative agenda. "We are reviewing the steps necessary to delineate issues, clarify the risks and opportunities and mobilize Hawaiians in eommon collaborative effort," said Trustee Haunani Apoliona, board Vice Chair and Chair of the Legislative and Govemment Affairs Committee. To define those issues for 1998, Tmstee Apohona and LAGA committee members conducted a comprehensive review of bills pertaining to OH A introduced in previous sessions. LAGA has redrafted some of these bills for introduction this session, in addition to new legislation. "These bills are the first handful approved as part of OHA's 1998 legislative package," said Trustee Apoliona. "There are additional measures that may be considered for approval at a later date. The Hawaiian eommunity should be proactive and identify ways for their voices to be heard. We must realize that public policy, bills and laws enacted at the legislature do affect our future." The working hands of OHA and the network of partners should actively inform beneficiaries of developments at the legislature. "We encourage support and participation," added Tmstee Apoliona. At its Nov. 25 meeting on Maui, the Board of Tmstees approved bills on the following topics:

Abandoned kuleana From 1866 to 1977, Hawai'i law provided that kuleana land belonging to a person who died without legal heirs would escheat, or revert, to the owner of the original ahupua'a to whieh the kuleana had belonged. In 1987, the law changed so that such land escheats to OHA. However, the new law did not address kuleana abandoned before 1977. OHA's bill corrects that. It requires owners of kuleana acquired through escheat before July 1, 1977 to document their ownership by filing a elaim. Otherwise, the kuleana will escheat to OHA. This bill has been introduced three times since 1994, and, by now, all concerns have been resolved.

OHA Representation on the Board of Land and Natural Resources Within the state administration, there is discussion of abolishing the BLNR. However, that proposal has encountered considerable community opposition. As long as the BLNR continues in existence, OHA's Board of Tmstees believes OHA's concems on land and land use will receive more eonsideration if OHA is represented on the sixmember board. However, the BLNR claims that, under the current law, its representation is regional "rather than for specific public interests" and that giving OHA a seat will set an unwanted precedent. OHA's bill would change the current law to

provide for OHA representation on the BLNR. OHA Representative on the State Land Use Commission As part of the Department of Business, Eeonomie Development and Tourism, the Land Use Commission is charged with districting and classifying lands and with amending boundaries of areas larger than 14 acres. It currently has nine members, one appointed from eaeh county and five at large. OHA's bill requires one of the at-large members be from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. OHA's Chief Procurement Officer The entire Board of Tmstees acted as OHA's ehief procurement officer before the legislature amended the law to designate the board chairperson OHA's chief procurement officer. OHA's bill would allow the board to designate the individual to act on its behalf. No Fee Charged for Birth Certificates To benefit from certain services and programs offered by the govemment and private organizations, Hawaiians must often prove or quantify their birthright. During the 1997 legislative session, the fee charged for certified copies of birfh, marriage or death certificates issued by the Department of Heahh was increased to $10 for the fīrst copy and $4 for eaeh additional copy. OHA's bill proposes to exempt ffom fees Hawaiians who, by law, must produce verification of Hawaiian ancestry in order to be eligible for benefits. ■

The Board of Trustees encourages the Hawaiian community to be pro-active this legislative session and identify ways for its voice to be heard in 1998.

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