Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 6, 1 June 2006 — Developments mode in ceded londs payments, the Akaka Bill, Kau Inoa [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]
Developments mode in ceded londs payments, the Akaka Bill, Kau Inoa
Haunani Apuliuna. MSW Chairpersūn TrustEE, At-large
Aloha mai kākou. Included are updates to three items from my April 2006 eolumn, ending with an excerpt from the state's response to the United States Commission on Civil Rights Report, May 2006. Public Land Trust Revenue The 2006 Legislature passed S.B. 2948, S.D.l, HD2, CD1 Relating to the Puhlie Land Trust. Expected to be signed into law by Gov. Linda Lingle, it "establishes the amount of interim revenue to be expended by OHA eaeh fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2005-2006, to better the conditions of native Hawaiians at $15,100,000. It appropriates $17.5 million as the amount of revenues owed to OHA for the underpayment of OHA's pro rata portion of the puhlie land trust between Iuly 1, 2001 and lune 30, 2005. Requires DLNR to provide an accounting of revenues from the puhlie land trust. (CD1)". Section 5 of the hill says, "Not later than lan. 1 of eaeh year, the department of land and natural resources, with the cooperation of the department of budget and finance and any other state department or agency that uses or manages puhlie lands, shall provide an accounting of all receipts from lands described in section 5(f) of the Admission Act for the prior fiscal year. With respect to eaeh receipt, the department shall identify: (1) the total gross amount; (2) the amount transferred to the office of Hawaiian Affairs; (3) the amount retained by the state; (4) the account or fund in whieh the amount specified in paragraph (3)was transferred or deposited; (5) the parcel of land subject to 5(f) of the Admission Act that generated the receipt, whether by tax map key number, department of land and natural resources inventory number, or other recognizable description; and (6) the state department or agency that received the total gross amount identified in paragraph (1). The accounting shall also indicate whether any parcel of land described in section 5(f) of the
Admission Act was sold or exchanged in the prior fiscal year and, if so, the amount of consideration that the State received for the respective parcel. The office of Hawaiian affairs shall be consulted by the department of land and natural resources in determining the method in whieh the accounting shall be conducted." Section 7 of the hill says, "Nothing in this Act shall resolve or settle, or be deemed to acknowledge the existence of, the claims of native Hawaiians to the ineome and proceeds of a pro rata portion of the publie land trust under article XII, section 6 of the state constitution." Discussions with the State of Hawai'i will continue toward agreements on "back due" revenue payments. Enactment offederaī recognition Voting in the Senate on S . 147, the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, is expected to begin as early as lune 8, 2006. A minimum of 60 votes will be required to approve cloture that will begin the process of debate on this significant legislation. Debate and final votes could conclude as early as lune 9 or as late as lune 14. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, and Gov. Lingle continue to eonfer, in writing and by direct one-to-one meetings, with U.S. Senators to loek in votes of support for cloture and passage of S. 147. Registration ofNative Hawaiians As of May 2006, 48,752 Native Hawaiians have registered with Kau Inoa. State of Hawai'i disagrees with U.S. Conunission on Civil Rights Report The state notes, "the Commission's report and its conclusion evidence a complete laek of understanding of this country's longstanding practice of dealing specifically with its native peoples. It ignores the undisputed history of suffering, and poliīieal and cultural devastation foisted upon the Native Hawaiian people. And under the guise of lessening discrimination, it ironically ends up effecting the most patent discrimination by denying the Native Hawaiian people the recognition and self-governing structure that virtually all other native peoples have had for decades." 'Oiaho'i. 19/48 ^
LEO 'ELELE • TRUSTEE MESSAGES