Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 3, 1 March 2011 — OHA advocates for Native Hawaiians at the State Legislature [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA advocates for Native Hawaiians at the State Legislature

By Jennifer Armstrong One of OHA's primary roles in its mission to improve the conditions for Native Hawaiians through systemic change is to be an advocate for maintaining or changing laws, policies and practices whieh broadly impact the Native Hawaiian community as indicated in OHA's 2010-2016 Strategic Plan. That is why we maintain an active voice at the State Capitol to closely monitor legislation that could potentially impact Native Hawaiians and take appropriate action to either support or oppose measures. This session, we proposed a number of measures aimed at bettering the lives of Native Hawaiians, including a bill to resolve past-due revenues from the Puhlie Land Trust owed to OHA, and a measure proposing tuition waivers for Native Hawaiian students. Read about these and other bills by visiting OHA's new legislative web site at www.oha.org/leg. This web site provides important updates on OH A's 20 1 1 legislative package, key bills that may affect Native Hawaiians, and information on how you ean help inHuenee outcomes of pending legislation. Throughout the session, OHA will keep you informed about our efforts at the State Legislature. For more information, eall us at 808-594-0128 or e-mail us at leg2011@oha.org. ■

www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org MATI\/F HAWAIIAM ss M F \A/ 'n I F F AT I IR F >s I F\/ F MT R

Visit 0HA's new legislative web site at www.oha.org/leg. - Photo: Helson Gaspar