Bill Text: HI SR81 | 2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Urging The United States To Satisfy Its Obligations To The Department Of Hawaiian Home Lands And The Hawaiian Home Lands Trust Under The Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Passed) 2022-06-06 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06/06/22. [SR81 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2022-SR81-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
81 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE RESOLUTION
URGING THE UNITED STATES TO SATISFY ITS OBLIGATIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS AND THE HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS TRUST UNDER THE HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS RECOVERY ACT.
WHEREAS, in 1921, Congress enacted the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act at the urging of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole with the support of the first Hawaiian Civic Clubs; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act set aside 203,000 acres of former crown and government lands for a homestead program intended to revitalize and rehabilitate the native Hawaiian community by returning them to the land; and
WHEREAS, today, the State of Hawaii is vested with the administration of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust (Trust) and its homesteading program, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is charged with the responsibility of effectively managing the Trust's lands and funds and delivering land to the Trust's native Hawaiian beneficiaries; and
WHEREAS, in 1995, Congress enacted the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act to authorize the transfer of certain federal lands to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to provide for a full settlement of claims against the United States for its taking and continued use of approximately 1,500 of the 203,000 acres of land set aside for implementation of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act; and
WHEREAS, the United States Department of the Interior is responsible for implementing the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act, and since the execution of a memorandum of agreement with the State of Hawaii and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in 1998, eight hundred ninety acres have been transferred and eighty acres are in the process of being transferred to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; and
WHEREAS, since the enactment of the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act, many parcels of federal lands that were suitable for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands were transferred in a manner inconsistent with the Act; and
WHEREAS, obligations of the federal government under the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act have not been satisfied in a timely manner and the Trust should be compensated for the ongoing loss of use of lands held by the federal government for which the Trust remains uncompensated; and
WHEREAS, remaining obligations of the federal government under the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act should be satisfied in a timely manner to ensure the Trust is made whole and can develop additional homestead lots for native Hawaiian beneficiaries; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, that the United States is urged to satisfy its obligations to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Trust under the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of Hawaii's congressional delegation are requested to seek amendments to the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act or enact other legislation to authorize compensation of the Trust for continued lost use of lands set aside under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and held by the federal government; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the United States Secretary of the Interior; members of the Hawaii congressional delegation; Governor; Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission; Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; and Mayors of the counties of Kauai, Maui, Hawaii, and City and County of Honolulu.
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; Hawaiian Homes Commission Act; Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act
