REPORT TITLE:
Hawaiian Trust Lands


DESCRIPTION:
Extends the time to process individual Hawaiian home lands trust
claims.  (SB1146 HD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN HOMES COMMISSION ACT, 1920, AS
   AMENDED.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (Act of
 
 2 1920), enacted by Congress in 1921 and adopted by the Hawaii
 
 3 State Constitution in Article XII, Section 2, provides for a
 
 4 government-sponsored homesteading program for native Hawaiians.
 
 5 The program arose from concern in the early 1900s for the
 
 6 Hawaiian people, many of whom, after moving to urban areas, were
 
 7 experiencing serious disruption to their lives and were without
 
 8 decent shelter or a means of making a living.  The original
 
 9 purpose of the Act of 1920 was to encourage Hawaiians to return
 
10 to the land to become subsistence or commercial farmers and
 
11 ranchers.  In 1923, Congress amended the Act to permit
 
12 residential homesteads.
 
13      Since that time, numerous controversies arose relating to
 
14 the administration of the trust established by the Act of 1920.
 
15 In 1991, the State created a process under which individual
 
16 beneficiaries may resolve claims for actual damages arising out
 
17 of or resulting from a breach of trust, which occurred between
 
18 August 21, 1959, and June 20, 1988, and that was caused by an act
 

 
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 1 or omission of an employee of the State in the management and
 
 2 disposition of trust resources.
 
 3      The process established in 1991 included the creation of the
 
 4 Hawaiian home lands trust individual claims review panel (Panel).
 
 5      Since the creation of the Panel, the legislature has twice
 
 6 extended the deadline (for a total of four years) for the Panel
 
 7 to complete its work.  The purpose of this Act is to ensure the
 
 8 timely adjudication of all claims.
 
 9      SECTION 2. Section 674-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
10 amended to read as follows:
 
11      "§674-1 Purpose.  The purpose of this chapter is to
 
12 establish a process under which individual beneficiaries under
 
13 the Hawaiian home lands trust may resolve claims for actual
 
14 damages arising out of or resulting from a breach of trust, which
 
15 occurred between August 21, 1959, and June 30, 1988, and was
 
16 caused by an act or omission of an employee of the State in the
 
17 management and disposition of trust resources, by:
 
18      (1)  [By establishing] Establishing a Hawaiian home lands
 
19           trust individual claims review panel which shall:
 
20           (A)  Receive, review, and evaluate the merits of an
 
21                individual beneficiary's claim;
 
22           (B)  Render findings and issue an advisory opinion
 
23                regarding the merits of each claim filed with the
 
24                panel, including an estimate of the probable award
 

 
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 1                of actual damages or recommended corrective action
 
 2                that may be implemented to resolve each claim;
 
 3           (C)  Prepare and transmit a report to the governor and
 
 4                legislature, at least twenty days prior to the
 
 5                convening of each regular legislative session, and
 
 6                a final report, at least twenty days prior to the
 
 7                convening of the [1997] 2001 regular legislative
 
 8                session, on the activities of the panel including
 
 9                a summary of each claim brought before the panel,
 
10                the panel's findings and advisory opinion
 
11                regarding the merits of each claim, and an
 
12                estimate of the probable compensation or any
 
13                recommended corrective action for legislative
 
14                action; and
 
15           (D)  Disburse any compensation awarded by the
 
16                legislature in regular session or undertake other
 
17                actions as provided by law which are acceptable to
 
18                a claimant;
 
19           and
 
20      (2)  [By providing] Providing an individual beneficiary
 
21           claimant the right to bring an action to recover actual
 
22           damages for a breach of trust, in the circuit courts of
 
23           the State of Hawaii, if the action taken by the
 

 
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 1           legislature in regular session on each claim brought
 
 2           before the panel is not acceptable to an individual
 
 3           beneficiary claimant."
 
 4      SECTION 3.  Section 674-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 5 amended to read as follows:
 
 6      "§674-4 Tenure and compensation of members.  The term of
 
 7 office of each member of the panel shall be until December 31,
 
 8 [1999.] 2001.  Any member appointed to fill a vacancy shall be
 
 9 appointed by the governor for the remainder of the term.  A
 
10 vacancy in the panel shall not affect its powers.
 
11      Each member of the panel shall be compensated at the rate of
 
12 $100 per day for each day's actual attendance to the member's
 
13 duties; provided that the compensation shall not exceed a maximum
 
14 of $10,000 per year.  The members of the panel shall be paid
 
15 their necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred in
 
16 the discharge of their duties.  Expenses incurred under this
 
17 section shall be paid by the department of commerce and consumer
 
18 affairs."
 
19      SECTION 4.  Section 674-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
20 amended to read as follows:
 
21      "§674-14  Annual report.  The panel shall prepare [a report
 
22 to be transmitted to the governor and to the legislature, at
 
23 least twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session
 

 
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 1 of 1998, and] a final report to be transmitted to the governor
 
 2 and to the legislature, at least twenty days prior to the
 
 3 convening of the regular session of [1999,] 2001, which
 
 4 summarizes [its] the panel's activities in furtherance of this
 
 5 chapter, and shall include a summary of each claim brought before
 
 6 the panel, the panel's findings and advisory opinion regarding
 
 7 the merits of each claim, and an estimate of the probable
 
 8 compensation or recommended corrective action by the State, for
 
 9 action by the legislature in regular session."
 
10      SECTION 5.  Section 674-17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
11 amended to read as follows:
 
12      "§674-17  Right to sue, individual claims.(a)  An
 
13 aggrieved individual claimant shall have the right to bring an
 
14 action, in accordance with this part, in the circuit courts of
 
15 the State for recovery of actual damages suffered by the claimant
 
16 arising out of or resulting from a breach of trust which occurred
 
17 between August 21, 1959, to June 30, 1988; provided that no
 
18 action shall be filed until after October 1, [1997.] 2001.
 
19      (b)  "Aggrieved individual claimant", as used in this
 
20 section, means an individual claimant whose claim was reviewed by
 
21 the panel under this chapter and who has filed, no later than
 
22 October 1, [1999,] 2001, a written notice with the panel that the
 
23 claimant does not accept the action taken by the legislature in
 

 
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 1 regular session upon the claim.  Any claimant who fails to file a
 
 2 written notice rejecting the action of the legislature upon the
 
 3 claim shall be deemed to have accepted the action taken by the
 
 4 legislature."
 
 5      SECTION 6.  Section 674-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 6 amended to read as follows:
 
 7      "§674-19  Limitation on actions.  Every claim cognizable
 
 8 under this part shall forever be barred unless the action is
 
 9 commenced by December 31, [1999.] 2001."
 
10      SECTION 7.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
11 New statutory material is underscored.
 
12      SECTION 8.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.