Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 2, 1 February 2006 — Legislative Update [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Legislative Update

OHA bills focus on ceded lands, resource bocirds, housing, educcition, culturcil center

By Derek Ferrar Public lnformation Specialist OHA's priorities at this year's state Legislature are mueh as they have been for the last several years, with a few key differences. Topping the hst of priorities are ceded lands revenue, Hawaiiandedicated seats on state land and water boards, funding for a proposed OHA office and Hawauan cultural center on the Kaka'ako waterfront, a prohibition against the sale of ceded lands, iniproved puhhe education for Hawaiian keiki and protection of kuleana lands. "Issues of lands, naturalresources and water continue to be at the forefront for Native Hawaiians and all residents of Hawai'i," said OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona. "We're hoping the legislators and the administration will take our efforts more seriously now that we're acquiring major conservation landholdings in Wao Kele o Puna and Waunea Valley." One unportant difference this year comes in the issue of ceded lands revenue, whieh has been addressed in the recent agreement on proposed legislation between OHA and the governor. In light of that agreement, said OHA Administrator Clyde Nāmu'o, the agency's previously proposed bill on land revenues has been replaced by bills seeking the Legislature's approval of the agreement with the governor (see page 6). In addition, several strong new proposals have been added to the mix. One bill would give OHA the authority to develop housing projects that would be exempt from zoning and other state and county regulations - mueh as the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is now able to do. "This is one of our most aggressive measures," said Nāmu'o. "The purpose

is to establish OHA as an attractive partner for housing development, but the real benefit comes in helping to deal with the affordable housing and rental crisis, especially for Native Hawaiians." Another bill would make it a crime to sell Native Hawaiian antiquities to anyone except qualified museums and repositories, and would establish specific penalties for trafficking in such cultural objects. "The sale of such items on the hlaek market is becoming more and more of a serious issue," Nāmu'o said. "This law would help with enforcement against that, and hopefully help prevent the further looting of caves and so forth." Other issues addressed in OHA's proposed package of bills include: Land and resource board seats As it is has in the past several sessions, OHA is seeking to reserve one seat eaeh on the Land Use Commission, Board of Land and Natural Resources, Water Resource Management Commission and Coastal Zone Management Advisory Board for an appointee to be chosen by the governor from a list of nominees submitted by OHA. "As the 'fourth arm' of state government, charged with looking out for the interests of Native Hawaiians, it's right that OHA pursue seats on these boards," said Apoliona. "And we feel that asking for one vote among a number of sentiments available on policy boards is not a very threatening thing." OHA offlce and Hawaiian cultural center After floating a proposal last year to build an OHA office and Hawaiian cultural center on 5.2

acres of state land on the waterfront between Kaka'ako Park and Honolulu Harbor, this year OHA is seeking a state bond issue of $ 1 .35 million to help pay for planning and design of the site. "In the past, the Legislature has funded other ethnic cultural centers," said Nāmu'o. "So hopefully they'll see the same value - if not an even greater one - in having a Hawaiian cultural center." Ceded lands In addition to the bills seeking approval of the revenue agreement with the governor, OHA is still pushing bills that would prevent the state from selling off ceded lands, along with one that would require the governor to provide an annual accounting of ceded lands revenue from all state departments. "Up to now, we've simply had to accept what we were told was our share of the puhlie land trust revenues," said Nāmu'o. "This would provide a transparent accounting,

so everything would be up front and clear." Education OHA's package includes a number of bills aimed at "making sure Native Hawaiian students have an opportunity to succeed in the puhlie school system," Nāmu'o said. A new proposal among these would require the Department of Education to offer Hawaiian language courses in puhlie schools, and provide financial assistance to university students who commit to teaching such classes. Other proposals include: • A study into the effectiveness of the Department of Education's Hawaiian education program. • Establishing alternative licensing requirements for teachers in certain Hawaiian education programs. • Providing funding for a special school district made up of Hawaiian-focused charter schools. • Increasing the number of char-

ter schools. • Providing tuition subsidies for Hawaiian preschoolers and establishing "play-and-learn" programs on Hawaiian homesteads. Kuleana lands Several measures would help protect kuleana lands (hereditary lands awarded to Hawaiian tenantfanners at the time of the Māhele) by exempting them from property taxes, giving OHA a greater role in kuleana title cases and prohibiting claims to kuleana lands based on adverse possession. OHA administration Several housekeeping bills address OHA administrative issues, including changing retirement benefits for some trustees and revising the 25-year-old state law requiring that OHA prepare a master plan for the entire Hawaiian connnunity. The proposed revision would allow the agency's current strategic plan to fulfill the master plan requirement. S

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