REPORT TITLE:
Hawaiian Homes Commission


DESCRIPTION:
Authorizes the election of the members of the Hawaiian homes
commission by Hawaiian voters and provides a salary for the
members.  Authorizes the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to
employ or retain an attorney.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE,
1999                                                       
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN HOMES COMMISSION.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to authorize the
 
 2 election of the members of the Hawaiian homes commission by
 
 3 Hawaiian voters.
 
 4      SECTION 2.  Section 202, Hawaiian Homes Commission Act,
 
 5 1920, as amended, is amended to read as follows:
 
 6      "§202.  Department officers, staff, commission, members,
 
 7 compensation.(a)  There shall be a department of Hawaiian home
 
 8 lands which shall be headed by an executive board to be known as
 
 9 the Hawaiian homes commission.  The members of the commission
 
10 shall be [nominated and appointed in accordance with section
 
11 26-34,] elected in accordance with this Act and chapters 11, 12,
 
12 15, 16, 17, and 19, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  The commission
 
13 shall be composed of [nine] ten members[, as follows:  three
 
14 shall be residents of the city and county of Honolulu; two shall
 
15 be residents of the county of Hawaii one of whom shall be a
 
16 resident of east Hawaii and the other a resident of west Hawaii;
 
17 two shall be residents of the county of Maui one of whom shall be
 
18 a resident from the island of Molokai; one shall be a resident of
 
19 the county of Kauai; and the ninth member shall be the chairman
 

 
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 1 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission], nine of whom shall be elected
 
 2 pursuant to subsection (d), and of these:
 
 3      (1)  Two shall reside on the island of Hawaii and shall be
 
 4           registered to vote on the island of Hawaii; provided
 
 5           that one member shall reside in east Hawaii in one of
 
 6           the districts of Puna, South Hilo, North Hilo, or
 
 7           Hamakua, and the other shall reside in west Hawaii in
 
 8           one of the districts of North Kohala, South Kohala,
 
 9           North Kona, South Kona, or Kau;
 
10      (2)  One shall reside on the island of Maui and shall be
 
11           registered to vote on the island of Maui;
 
12      (3)  One shall reside on the island of Molokai and shall be
 
13           registered to vote on the island of Molokai;
 
14      (4)  One shall reside on the island of Kauai and shall be
 
15           registered to vote on the island of Kauai; and
 
16      (5)  Four shall reside on the island of Oahu and shall be
 
17           registered to vote on the island of Oahu.
 
18 The tenth member shall be the director of the department of
 
19 Hawaiian home lands who shall serve as an ex officio voting
 
20 member.  [All members shall have been residents of the State at
 
21 least three years prior to their appointment and at least four of
 
22 the members shall be descendants of not less than one-fourth part
 
23 of the blood of the races inhabiting the Hawaiian islands
 

 
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 1 previous to 1778.]  The members of the commission shall [serve
 
 2 without pay, but] receive compensation of $     and shall receive
 
 3 actual expenses incurred by them in the discharge of their duties
 
 4 as [such] members.  All expenses of the commission including any
 
 5 expenses and compensation of its members shall be paid out of the
 
 6 revenue provided the office of Hawaiian affairs pursuant to
 
 7 section 10-13.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  The [governor shall
 
 8 appoint the chairman] chairperson of the commission [from among
 
 9 the] shall be selected by the  members [thereof.] of the
 
10 commission.  The governor shall appoint the director of the
 
11 department.  The commission may delegate to the [chairman]
 
12 director such duties, powers, and authority or so much thereof,
 
13 as may be lawful or proper for the performance of the functions
 
14 vested in the commission.  The [chairman of the commission]
 
15 director shall serve in a full-time capacity[.  He shall, in such
 
16 capacity,] and shall perform such duties, and exercise such
 
17 powers and authority, or so much thereof, as may be delegated to
 
18 [him] the director by the commission [as herein provided above].
 
19      (b)  The provisions of section 76-16, Hawaii Revised
 
20 Statutes, shall apply to the positions of first deputy and
 
21 private secretary to the [chairman  of the commission.] director.
 
22 The department may hire temporary staff on a contractual basis
 
23 not subject to chapters 76, 77, and 78, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
 

 
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 1 when the services to be performed will assist in carrying out the
 
 2 purposes of the Act.  These positions may be funded through
 
 3 appropriations for capital improvement program projects and by
 
 4 the administration account, operating fund, or native Hawaiian
 
 5 rehabilitation fund.  No contract shall be for a period longer
 
 6 than two years, but individuals hired under contract may be
 
 7 employed for a maximum of six years; provided that the six-year
 
 8 limitation shall not apply if the department, with the approval
 
 9 of the governor, determines that such contract individuals are
 
10 needed to provide critical services for the efficient functioning
 
11 of the department.  All other positions in the department shall
 
12 be subject to chapters 76 and 77, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
 
13      All vacancies and new positions which are covered by
 
14 chapters 76 and 77, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be filled in
 
15 accordance with sections 76-23 and 76-31, Hawaii Revised
 
16 Statutes[,]; provided that the provisions of these sections shall
 
17 be applicable first to qualified persons of Hawaiian extraction.
 
18      (c)  No person shall be eligible for election to the
 
19 commission unless the person meets the following qualifications:
 
20      (1)  The person shall be a descendant of the aboriginal
 
21           peoples inhabiting the Hawaiian islands which exercised
 
22           sovereignty and subsisted in the Hawaiian islands in
 

 
 
 
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 1           1778, and which peoples thereafter have continued to
 
 2           reside in Hawaii;
 
 3      (2)  The person has attained the age of eighteen years or
 
 4           will have attained such age within one year of the date
 
 5           of the next election of commission members; and
 
 6      (3)  The person is otherwise qualified to register to vote
 
 7           in the State.
 
 8      No member of the commission shall hold or be a candidate for
 
 9 any other public office under the state or county governments in
 
10 accordance with article II, section 7, of the Constitution of the
 
11 State of Hawaii; nor shall a person be eligible for election to
 
12 the commission if that person is also a candidate for any other
 
13 public office under the state or county governments.
 
14      For the purposes of this subsection, the term "public
 
15 office" shall not include notaries public, reserve police
 
16 officers, or officers of emergency organizations for civilian
 
17 defense or disaster, or disaster relief.
 
18      (d)  Members of the commission shall be elected at a special
 
19 election held in conjunction with the general election in every
 
20 even-numbered year.
 
21      Any person wishing to register as a candidate for the
 
22 election as a commission member shall submit to an examination
 
23 under oath by the clerk of the county as to the person's
 

 
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 1 qualifications.  In addition, each candidate shall make and
 
 2 subscribe to an application in the form of an affidavit verifying
 
 3 the candidate's qualifications.
 
 4      The chief election officer shall prepare the nomination
 
 5 papers in such a manner that a candidate desiring to file for
 
 6 election to the commission shall be able to specify that the
 
 7 candidate is seeking a seat requiring residency on a particular
 
 8 island.
 
 9      The ballot shall be prepared in such a manner that voters
 
10 qualified and registered under this Act shall be afforded the
 
11 opportunity to cast ballots for the candidates seeking election
 
12 to the seats representing the island on which the voter resides.
 
13 The ballot shall contain the names of the candidates arranged
 
14 alphabetically.  Each eligible voter shall be entitled to receive
 
15 the commission ballot and to vote for the number of seats
 
16 available on the island on which the voter resides.
 
17      (e)  No person shall be eligible to register as a voter for
 
18 the election of commission members unless the person meets the
 
19 following qualifications:
 
20      (1)  The person is:
 
21           (A)  A "native Hawaiian" as defined in section 201(7)
 
22                of this Act;
 

 
 
 
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 1           (B)  A successor to a lessee as defined in section
 
 2                209(a) of this Act; or
 
 3           (C)  (i)  A descendant of the aboriginal peoples
 
 4                     inhabiting the Hawaiian islands previous to
 
 5                     1778, that exercised sovereignty and
 
 6                     subsisted at that time and thereafter
 
 7                     continued to reside in Hawaii; and
 
 8               (ii)  Maintains the person's residence on "Hawaiian
 
 9                     home lands" as defined in section 201(5) of
 
10                     this Act;
 
11      (2)  The person has attained the age of eighteen years or
 
12           will have attained such age within one year of the date
 
13           of the next election of commission members; and
 
14      (3)  The person is otherwise qualified to register to vote
 
15           in the State.
 
16      The clerk of each county shall register all persons in the
 
17 county who are eligible and wish to register as voters for the
 
18 election of commission members.  The register may be maintained
 
19 in conjunction with the general county register; provided that
 
20 the clerk shall be able to prepare a separate list of voters for
 
21 the election of commission members, capable of segregation by
 
22 precinct and representative district.  The maintenance,
 
23 reproduction, and transmittal of records and affidavits to a
 

 
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 1 central file may be in accordance with section 11-14, Hawaii
 
 2 Revised Statutes.
 
 3      (f)  The term of office of members of the commission shall
 
 4 be four years beginning on the day of the special election held
 
 5 in conjunction with the general election of the year in which
 
 6 they are elected and ending on the day of the special election
 
 7 held in conjunction with the second general election after their
 
 8 election; except that the term of office of commission members
 
 9 elected in 2000 shall be as follows:
 
10      (1)  The four members elected with the highest number of
 
11           votes shall serve four years; and
 
12      (2)  The remaining members elected shall serve two years.
 
13 Members of the commission may be re-elected without restriction
 
14 as to the number of terms.
 
15      Any vacancy that may occur through any cause other than the
 
16 expiration of the term of office shall be filled in accordance
 
17 with section 17-   , Hawaii Revised Statutes."
 
18      SECTION 3.  Chapter 17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
19 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
20 read as follows:
 
21      "§17-      Hawaiian homes commission; vacancies.  (a)
 
22 Whenever any vacancy in the membership of the Hawaiian homes
 
23 commission occurs, the term of which ends at the next succeeding
 

 
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 1 special election held in conjunction with the general election,
 
 2 the vacancy shall be filled within sixty days by a two-thirds
 
 3 vote of the remaining members of the commission.
 
 4      (b)  In the case of a vacancy, the term of which does not
 
 5 end at the next succeeding special election held in conjunction
 
 6 with the general election:
 
 7      (1)  If it occurs not later than on the sixtieth day prior
 
 8           to the next succeeding special election held in
 
 9           conjunction with the general election, the vacancy
 
10           shall be filled for the unexpired term at the next
 
11           succeeding special election held in conjunction with
 
12           the general election.  The chief election officer shall
 
13           issue a proclamation designating the election for
 
14           filling the vacancy.  All candidates for the unexpired
 
15           term shall file nomination papers not later than 4:30
 
16           p.m. on the fiftieth day prior to the special election
 
17           (but if such day is a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday then
 
18           not later than 4:30 p.m. on the first working day
 
19           immediately preceding) and shall be elected in
 
20           accordance with this title.  Pending the election, the
 
21           commission shall make a temporary appointment to fill
 
22           the vacancy in the manner prescribed under subsection
 
23           (a).  The person so appointed shall reside on the
 

 
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 1           island from which the vacancy occurred, and shall serve
 
 2           for the duration of the unexpired term and shall serve
 
 3           until the election of the person duly elected to fill
 
 4           such vacancy; or
 
 5      (2)  If it occurs after the sixtieth day prior to the next
 
 6           succeeding special election held in conjunction with
 
 7           the general election, the commission shall make an
 
 8           appointment to fill the vacancy in the manner
 
 9           prescribed under subsection (a).  The person so
 
10           appointed shall reside on the island from which the
 
11           vacancy occurred, and shall serve for the duration of
 
12           the unexpired term.
 
13      (c)  All appointments made by the commission under this
 
14 section shall be made without consideration of the appointee's
 
15 party preference or nonpartisanship status."
 
16      SECTION 4.  Section 11-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
17 amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
 
18      "(b)  Any person qualified to and desiring to register as a
 
19 voter for the election of members of the board of trustees of the
 
20 office of Hawaiian affairs or of members of the Hawaiian homes
 
21 commission shall make and subscribe to an application in the form
 
22 of an affidavit which shall state that the person is Hawaiian and
 
23 which shall contain the information required under subsection
 

 
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 1 (a).  The affidavit shall also apply to all elections, primary,
 
 2 special primary, general, special general, special, or county,
 
 3 held in the State, under all voting systems used within the
 
 4 State, so far as applicable and not inconsistent with this
 
 5 title."
 
 6      SECTION 5.  Section 11-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 7 amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:
 
 8      "(a)  Challenging prior to election day.  Any registered
 
 9 voter may challenge the right of a person to be or to remain
 
10 registered as a voter in any precinct for any cause not
 
11 previously decided by the board of registration or the supreme
 
12 court in respect to the same person; provided that in an election
 
13 of members of the board of trustees of the office of Hawaiian
 
14 affairs, the voter making the challenge must be registered to
 
15 vote in that election[.]; provided further that in an election of
 
16 members of the Hawaiian homes commission, the voter making the
 
17 challenge shall be registered to vote in that election.  The
 
18 challenge shall be in writing, setting forth the grounds upon
 
19 which it is based, and be signed by the person making the
 
20 challenge.  The challenge shall be delivered to the clerk who
 
21 shall forthwith serve notice thereof on the person challenged.
 
22 The clerk [shall], as soon as possible, shall investigate and
 
23 rule on the challenge.
 

 
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 1      (b)  Challenging on election day.  Any voter rightfully in
 
 2 the polling place may challenge the right to vote of any person
 
 3 who comes to the precinct officials for voting purposes.  The
 
 4 challenge shall be on the grounds that the voter is not the
 
 5 person the voter alleges to be, or that the voter is not entitled
 
 6 to vote in that precinct; provided that only in an election of
 
 7 members of the board of trustees of the office of Hawaiian
 
 8 affairs[,] or members of the Hawaiian homes commission, a person
 
 9 registered to vote in that election may also challenge on the
 
10 grounds that the voter is not Hawaiian.  No other or further
 
11 challenge shall be allowed.  Any person thus challenged shall
 
12 first be given the opportunity to make the relevant correction
 
13 pursuant to section 11-21.  The challenge shall be considered and
 
14 decided immediately by the precinct officials and the ruling
 
15 shall be announced."
 
16      SECTION 6.  Section 12-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
17 amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
 
18      "(c)  Nomination papers for candidates for members of the
 
19 board of trustees of the office of Hawaiian affairs and for
 
20 members of the Hawaiian homes commission shall be signed by [not
 
21 less] no fewer than twenty-five persons registered as prescribed
 
22 under section 11-15(b)."
 

 
 
 
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 1      SECTION 7.  Section 12-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
 3      "(a)  Nomination papers shall be filed as follows:  for
 
 4 members of Congress, state, and county offices, the Hawaiian
 
 5 homes commission, and the board of trustees of the office of
 
 6 Hawaiian affairs, with the chief election officer, or clerk in
 
 7 case of county offices, not later than 4:30 p.m. on the sixtieth
 
 8 calendar day prior to the primary, special primary, or special
 
 9 election; provided that if such day is a Saturday, Sunday, or
 
10 holiday then not later than 4:30 p.m. on the first working day
 
11 immediately preceding.  A state candidate from the counties of
 
12 Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai may file the declaration of candidacy
 
13 with the respective clerk.  The clerk shall transmit to the
 
14 office of the chief election officer the state candidate's
 
15 declaration of candidacy without delay.  However, if a special
 
16 primary or special election is to be held by a county and the
 
17 county charter requires that the council shall issue a
 
18 proclamation calling for the election to be held within a
 
19 specified period of time, and if that requirement would not allow
 
20 the filing of nomination papers with the appropriate office by
 
21 the sixtieth calendar day prior to the day for holding the
 
22 special primary or special election, the council shall establish
 

 
 
 
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 1 the deadline for the filing of nomination papers in the
 
 2 proclamation calling for the election."
 
 3      SECTION 8.  Section 26-17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 4 amended to read as follows:
 
 5      "§26-17  Department of Hawaiian home lands.  The department
 
 6 of Hawaiian home lands shall be headed by an executive board to
 
 7 be known as the Hawaiian homes commission.
 
 8      The commission shall be composed of [nine] ten members.  The
 
 9 [appointment,] election, tenure, and removal of the members and
 
10 the filling of vacancies on the commission shall be in accordance
 
11 with [section 26-34 and section 202(a)] sections 17-   and     
 
12 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, as amended.  [The
 
13 governor shall appoint the chairperson of the commission from
 
14 among the members thereof.]
 
15      The commission may delegate to the [chairperson] director of
 
16 Hawaiian home lands such duties, powers, and authority, or so
 
17 much thereof as may be lawful or proper, for the performance of
 
18 the functions vested in the commission.
 
19      The [chairperson of the board] director of Hawaiian home
 
20 lands shall serve in a [full time] full-time capacity and shall
 
21 perform such duties, and exercise such powers and authority, or
 
22 so much thereof as may be delegated to the [chairperson] director
 
23 of Hawaiian home lands by the board.
 

 
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 1      The department shall administer the Hawaiian Homes
 
 2 Commission Act of 1920 as set forth in the Constitution of the
 
 3 State and by law.
 
 4      The functions and authority heretofore exercised by the
 
 5 Hawaiian homes commission as heretofore constituted are
 
 6 transferred to the department of Hawaiian home lands established
 
 7 by this chapter."
 
 8      SECTION 9.  Section 26-34, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 9 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
10      "(a)  The members of each board and commission established
 
11 by law, except the Hawaiian homes commission, shall be nominated
 
12 and, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appointed
 
13 by the governor.  Unless otherwise provided by this chapter or by
 
14 law hereafter enacted, the terms of the members shall be for four
 
15 years; provided that the governor may reduce the terms of those
 
16 initially appointed so as to provide, as nearly as can be, for
 
17 the expiration of an equal number of terms at intervals of one
 
18 year for each board and commission.  Unless otherwise provided by
 
19 law, each term shall commence on July 1 and expire on June 30,
 
20 except that the terms of the chairpersons of the board of
 
21 agriculture, and the board of land and natural resources[, and
 
22 the Hawaiian homes commissions] shall commence on January 1 and
 
23 expire on December 31.  No person shall be appointed
 

 
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 1 consecutively to more than two terms as a member of the same
 
 2 board or commission; provided that membership on any board or
 
 3 commission shall not exceed eight consecutive years."
 
 4      SECTION 10.  Section 28-8.3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 5 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
 6      "(a)  No department of the State other than the attorney
 
 7 general may employ or retain any attorney, by contract or
 
 8 otherwise, for the purpose of representing the State or the
 
 9 department in any litigation, rendering legal counsel to the
 
10 department, or drafting legal documents for the department;
 
11 provided that the foregoing provision shall not apply to the
 
12 employment or retention of attorneys:
 
13      (1)  By the public utilities commission, the labor and
 
14           industrial relations appeals board, and the Hawaii
 
15           labor relations board;
 
16      (2)  By any court or judicial or legislative office of the
 
17           State;
 
18      (3)  By the legislative reference bureau;
 
19      (4)  By any compilation commission that may be constituted
 
20           from time to time;
 
21      (5)  By the real estate commission for any action involving
 
22           the real estate recovery fund;
 

 
 
 
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 1      (6)  By the contractors license board for any action
 
 2           involving the contractors recovery fund;
 
 3      (7)  By the trustess for any action involving the travel
 
 4           agency recovery fund;
 
 5      (8)  By the office of Hawaiian affairs;
 
 6      (9)  By the department of commerce and consumer affairs for
 
 7           the enforcement of violations of chapters 480 and 485;
 
 8     (10)  As grand jury counsel;
 
 9     (11)  By the Hawaiian homelands trust individual claims
 
10           review panel;
 
11     (12)  By the Hawaii health systems corporation or any of its
 
12           facilities;
 
13     (13)  By the auditor;
 
14     (14)  By the office of the ombudsman;
 
15     (15)  By the department of Hawaiian home lands;
 
16    [(15)] (16)  By the insurance division; or
 
17    [(16)] (17)  By a department, in the event the attorney
 
18           general, for reasons deemed by the attorney general
 
19           good and sufficient, declines, to employ or retain an
 
20           attorney for a department; provided that the governor
 
21           thereupon waives the provision of this section."
 

 
 
 
 
 
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 1      SECTION 11.  The terms of the appointed members of the
 
 2 Hawaiian homes commission shall expire on the day of the special
 
 3 election to elect members of the commission.
 
 4      SECTION 12.  The amendments made by this Act to the Hawaiian
 
 5 Homes Commission Act, 1920, as amended, are declared to be
 
 6 severable and, if any section, sentence, clause, or phrase, or
 
 7 the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held
 
 8 ineffective because there is a requirement of having the consent
 
 9 of the United States to take effect, then that portion shall take
 
10 effect only upon the granting of consent by the United States,
 
11 and the effectiveness of the remainder of these amendments of the
 
12 application thereof shall not be affected.
 
13      SECTION 13.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
14 New statutory material is underscored.
 
15      SECTION 14.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
16 
 
17                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________
 
18 
 
19                                           _______________________