STAND. COM. REP. NO.437
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: H.B. No. 627
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 627 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN HOMES COMMISSION ACT, 1920, AS AMENDED,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to correct an inequity in section 209 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, as amended (HHCA) relating to the blood requirements applicable to the descendants of lessees who acquired homestead leases under the Act of May 16, 1934 (48 Stat. 777, 779), as amended, or the Act of July 9, 1952 (66 Stat. 511, 513).
The department of Hawaiian home lands (department) submitted testimony in support of the bill. Ka Lahui submitted testimony in opposition to the bill. Proposed amendments were submitted by the State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Association.
Upon considering the proposed amendments, your Committee has deleted the substance of the bill, and amended the bill by:
(1) Inserting a new findings and purpose section that expresses the legislature's support for Hawaii's indigenous people in their effort to attain greater self-governance;
(2) Providing a section which affirms the federal trust relationship between the federal government and the indigenous people of Hawaii; and
(3) Providing a section that allows for the delegation of authority from the department to homestead community self-governance organizations.
Your Committee agrees with the intent of this bill, as amended, and supports the efforts of the Hawaiian people to achieve a greater level of self-determination within their own communities. Your Committee further agrees that self-governance at the community level is an important first step for the Hawaiian people as they strive to establish a self-governing entity.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 627, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 627, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,
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____________________________ ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair |
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