Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 8, 1 August 2013 — 2013 Legislative Review [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

2013 Legislative Review

By Sterling Wong f all goes well, the Moloka'i Island Burial Council will finally get fri fVn-

the first time since 2008 because of a recently signed law proposed by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Act 276,

whieh was signed on July 9 by Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui, resolves several composition and quorum issues that have beset the island burial councils for years. These issues have prevented many of them from meeting regularly, thereby hindering their ability to make critical decisions to protect our iwi kupuna. The island burial eouneil

law was one of seven measures that OHA either proposed in its Legislative Package or helped develop that were enacted in 2013, highlighting a \īf±r\r en/'/'pee.

ful legislative session for the agency. In addition to OHA's priority measures, a number of other laws were

passed in 2013 that impact Native Hawaiians, including Act 287, whieh changes the way OHA trustees are elected, and the highly controversial Act 85, whieh many believe will significantly reduce the protection of historic sites and iwi kupuna. Below is a review of the most notable measures impacting Native Hawaiians in 2013 and how they fared.

NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURGES Senate Bill 407 (OHA Legislative Package Bill) Status: Act 276 OHA Position: Support Description: Most significantly, Act 276 reduces the number of representatives for the Kaua'i/Ni'ihau, O'ahu, Maui/Lāna'i and Hawai'i island burial councils from 15 to nine and the Moloka'i island burial eouneil from 15 to five. The law also clarifies a number of longstanding legal ambiguities relating to the quorum and composition of the island burial councils.

SB 409 (OHA Legislative Package Bill) Status: Act 28 OHA Position: Support Description: Act 28 officially codifies into statute the Hawaiian language community's longstanding recognition of February as 'Ōlelo Hawai'i Month. Act 28 is especially historic because it is the first law published in Hawaiian since 1943, when the requirement to print laws in both English and Hawaiian was abolished. OHA believes this law is a significant step forward in normalizing the Hawaiian language and giving real meaning to the designation of Hawaiian as one of two official languages of the state. SB 406 (OHA Legislative Package Bill) Status: Carries over to 2014 OHA Position: Support Description: By proposing SB 406, OHA continued its efforts to require certain board and commission members to receive critical training on their responsibilities under current state law to protect Native Hawaiian rights and puhlie trust resources, such as water and land. The training aims to empower policymakers to make better informed decisions that are consistent with their legal responsibilities. Although it did not pass this session and will carry over to 2014, the bill received widespread support from lawmakers, state officials and the community. OHA held the inauSEE LEGISLATURE ON PAGE 6

LEGISLATURE

Hawaiian language proponents have long recognized February as 'Ōlelo Hawai'i Monlh. In April, Gov. Neil Abercrombie made itofficial by signing into law Senate Bill 409. - Photo: 0HA Communications

LEGISLATURE Continued from page 5

gural training in January and will continue to offer the course to decision makers and policymakers on a voluntary basis. SB 1171 Status: Act 85 OHA Position: Oppose Description: Possibly the most controversial law impacting Native Hawaiians that was passed in 2013, Act 85 allows construction to start prior to a project site being properly surveyed for cultural sites and Native Hawaiian burials. OHA and many Native Hawaiians, as well as a number of historic preservation organizations, opposed SB 1171, arguing that the bill would lead to more controversies like Walmart and Ward Villages, in whieh iwi

kupuna were discovered so late in the development process that there were few options left to fully protect them. House Bill 1133 Status: Act 38 OHA position: Support Description: Act 38 repealed the 20 1 1 law that established the highly controversial Puhlie Land Development Corporation (PLDC). PLDC projects were afforded broad exemptions from land use, zoning and other laws that provide critical protections for Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices and opportunities for community review and input. EG0N0MIG DEVELOPMENT HB 222 (OHA Legislative Package Bill) Status: Act 170 OHA Position: Support

Description: Act 170, OHA's budget bill, provides for $5.88 million in state general funds over the next two fiscal years - to be matched by OHA trust funds - for OHA operations, as well as for legal, social, education, heahh and Hawaiian language media services for Native Hawaiians. SB 403 (OHA Legislative Package Bill) Status: Act 171 OHA Position: Support Description: Act 17 1 strengthens OHA's authority to issue revenue bonds by, among other things, explicitly giving the agency more flexibility to use bonds to fund a broader range of projects. OHA supported this bill because it provides OHA a critical financing tool, as it plans to develop its properties in Kaka'ako Makai. SEE LEGISLATURE ON PAGE 33

Despite calls to "Kill SB 1171," the measure heeame law, allowing for phased reviews of project sites. Opponents argued that archaeological surveys should be completed before construction begins to ensure protection of cultural sites and Native Hawaiian burials. - Photo: OHA Communications

LEGISLATURE Continued from page 6

HB 868 (OHA Priority Legislation) Status: Act 18 OHA Position: Support Description: Under previous laws, to benefit from certain public assistance programs, individuals' combined assets generally must be less than $5,000. The asset limits are problematic because they encourage low-ineome families to get rid of assets instead of accumulating them, whieh makes it difficult for those families to escape poverty and become self-sufficient. Act 18 addresses this issue by eliminating the asset limit for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The law builds upon a bill originally introduced by OHA in 2012 that sought to raise the asset limit for several public assistance programs, including TANF. OHA proposed this concept because it furthers our strategic priority of improving the eeonomie self-sufficiency of Native Hawaiians. GRIMINAL JUSTICE HB 218 (OHA Legislative Package Bill) Status: Act 154 OHA position: Support Description: Act 154 continues the work of the Native Hawaiian Justice Task Force, established in 2011, by identifying the Corrections Population Management Commission (CPMC) to lead the development of appropriate and effective cultural programs that are responsive to the needs of pa'ahao (prisoners), and to further examine the disproportionate number of Native Hawaiians in the criminal justice system. Act 154 adds seats for an OHA representative and a member of the public with a background in criminal justice and Native Hawaiian practices to the CPMC, whose primary function is to address overcrowding and reentry issues in Hawai'i's criminal justice system.

EDUCATION HB 224 (OHA Legislative Package Bill) Status: Carries over to 2014 0HA Position: Support Description: HB 224 demonstrated OHA's steadfast support for the Hawaiian language community in its opposition to the translated Hawai'i State Assessment that is administered to Hawaiian Language Immersion Program (HLIP) students. The community's opposition stems from the many flaws inherent with translated tests, including cultural and translation bias, translation inaccuracies and terminology inconsistencies. HB 224 would have required assessments for thirdthrough sixth-grade HLIP students to be developed originally in the Hawaiian language. While HB 224 did not pass this session, the Department of Education continues to work with the Hawaiian language community to resolve this issue. GOVERNANCE SB 3 Status: Act 287 0HA Position: 0ppose Description: Act 287 changes the process for electing members of the OHA Board of Trustees by establishing a primary election to narrow the field of candidates who would then run against eaeh other in the general election. Advocates for SB 3 argued that the longstanding OHA elections process - a special eleetion held with the general election - was an anomaly among Hawai'i's

elections because it lacked a primary and presented a disadvantage to challengers who have to run against an incumbent in addition to a large pool of other challengers. OHA opposed SB 3, testifying that whether a primary would improve the prospects of challengers was based on speculation. Moreover, OHA argued that the OHA board elections are similar in scope and cost to the statewide elections for

governor and lieutenant governor, and therefore creating a primary would subject OHA candidates to additional costs. HB 785 Status: Act 77 0HA Position: Support Description: Act 77 affirms the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission's current practice of accepting ancestry verification from Kamehameha Schools or OHA as proof of a registrant's Native Hawaiian ancestry. In addition, Act 77 requires that the commission extend all rights and recognitions of other members of the Native Hawaiian Roll to any person already registered with the state as a verified Hawaiian or Native Hawaiian through OHA. OHA supported HB 785 because it offers broad rights protections to OHA's registered beneficiaries. House Concurrent Resolution 6 (0HA Legislative Package Resoli(tion)

Status: Adopted 0HA Position: Support Description: HCR 6 eommemorates the 20th anniversary of the federal government's adoption of the Apology Resolution, through whieh Congress, in a rare act of selfcriticism, unequivocally recognized the ongoing harms resulting from the U.S. government's role in the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai'i and expressed a clear commitment to a process of reconciliation with the Native Hawaiian people. HCR 6 also reviews the steps taken since then toward this reconciliation process and reaffirms the commitment of the state toward achieving reconciliation for the betterment of Native Hawaiians and all who live in Hawai'i. ■

Hawaiian-language immersion supporters rallied in January outside the state Department of Education against translated Hawai'i State Assessment tests. - Photo: Ka'imo Muhlestein