Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 2, 1 February 1993 — Reorganization replaces nine committees with six [ARTICLE]

Reorganization replaces nine committees with six

OHA committee structure streamlined

by Jeff Clark The OHA Board of Trustees has reorganized the Board's committee structure, reducing the number of committees from nine to six. Land is now coupled with sovereignty in a new committee, and eeonomie development is now covered in a new committee with plannine and housine.

The Committee on Budget, Finance and Policy will now also include work formerly done by the OHA Relations committee. The new Human Services committee will include health matters, while the Education and Culture and Legislative Review committees remain intact. Newly created are: an Ad Hoe Committee on Entitlements, chaired by Clayton Hee with members Moanike'ala Akaka and Abraham Aiona, and an Ad Hoe Committee on Legislative Lobbying with A. Frenchy

DeSoto, chair and Kīna'u Boyd Kamali'i and Aiona, members. The new committee assignments and their functions are as follows: Budget, Finance & Policy: Abraham Aiona, chair; Kamaki Kanahele, vice chair; Rowena Akana, DeSoto, Moses Keale, members. This committee formulates policy, handles financial matters, oversees the evaluation of OHA programs, oversees public relations and recommends policy to improve relations and communications with both the Hawaiian and the nonHawaiian communities.

Land & Sovereignty: Kamali'i, chair; DeSoto, vice chair; Akaka, Kanahele, Samuel Kealoha Jr., members. This committee monitors the use of real estate to whieh OHA has or will have an interest and recommends policy on land use, native rights and natural resources. It also advocates in sovereignty matters, including the review of

sovereignty models and the oversight of educational and consensus-building efforts aimed at the identification of a model sovereien entitv.

Education & Culture: Kanahele, chair; Keale, vice chair; Kamali'i, Akana, Kealoha Jr., members. This committee monitors educational programs whieh affect Hawaiians, recommends policy to raise the Hawaiian community's awareness of the value of education, and finds ways to help Hawaiians achieve their educational goals. It also monitors the condition of properties whieh contain significant Hawaiian cultural sites or features, recommends policy regarding the treatment of eultural assets and values that affect the cultural identity of Hawaiians, and oversees protoeol within OHA. Planning, Eeonomie Development & Housing: Keale, chair; Kanahele, vice chair;

Aiona, DeSoto, Kealoha Jr., members. This committee recommends OHA's planning direction and goals, monitors the eeonomie conditions of Hawaiians, and reviews and recommends policies to enhanee Hawaiians' eeonomie conditions.

It monitors land in whieh OHA will have an interest and ensures that that land yields the highest interest on behalf of Hawaiians. It also monitors and recommends policies relating to housing, including identifying housing needs and coordinating housing development, particularly in partnership with other housing agencies. Legislative Review: DeSoto, chair; Kamali'i, vice chair; Aiona, Akana, Akaka, members. This committee monitors eounty, state and federal legislation to determine its impact on Hawaiians, recommends changes to existing or proposed laws, and recommends policy

for lobbying on behalf of Hawaiians. Human Services: Akaka, chair; Kealoha Jr., vice chair; Kamali'i, Kanahele, Keale, members. This committee monitors statistics and other information on the health of Hawaiians, identifies significant health problems faced by the Hawaiian community, monitors the access to health care of Hawaiians, and monitors the condition of the Hawaiian 'ohana. All committee meetings are open to the public. In accordance with the Sunshine Law, meeting agenda are published six days in advance. People may give written or oral testimony on items listed on the agenda. Those wishing to testify in writing are asked to submit 10 copies of their testimony 48 hours beforehand, and oral testimony is limited to five minutes.