RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Senate delegation has proposed a bill, commonly known as the "Akaka Bill", which seeks to establish a Native Hawaiian governing entity with the powers to negotiate and determine the future legal status of those of Hawaiian blood; and

WHEREAS, the Native Hawaiian governing entity, as proposed in the Akaka Bill, seeks to create a race-based "tribe" out of those of Hawaiian blood, which includes up to 400,000 people in every state in the United States; and

WHEREAS, because of the broad provisions of the Akaka Bill, the race-based Native Hawaiian governing entity will have vast governmental powers and jurisdiction over persons in every state, creating the largest Indian tribe in the nation; and

WHEREAS, the membership in the society created by the Akaka Bill is race-based and determined by racial characteristics, namely blood without any minimum quantum, without the recognition of what are considered necessary elements for determination as a political entity such as Indian tribes, specifically determination by the tribe as to who may be members; past political recognition as a banded group distinct from others; or geographic or cultural segregation; and

WHEREAS, key components of the Akaka Bill shock the conscience of all reasonableness in several ways offensive to the citizens of the State of Hawaii, including the fact that the definition of "Native Hawaiian" is extremely broad and misleading; nothing in the bill guarantees the governing entity will be carried out in a democratic form; the bill fails to guarantee that the Bill of Rights are incorporated into the governing entity; the entity will negotiate with state and federal authorities over land rights, jurisdictional issues, and other entitlements for its members to the exclusions of others that reside in Hawaii; and most offensively, S. 147 wholly lacks any mechanism to enable Hawaiians—all Hawaiians, not just those with one drop of Hawaiian blood—to determine whether they want to authorize this race-based government; and

WHEREAS, the likely impacts from enacting the Akaka Bill will effect far more than those who qualify for membership. The Akaka Bill will have broad sweeping impacts upon all those who step foot on Hawaii's soil, including temporary stationed military personnel, tourists, and most certainly the residents whom call Hawaii home; and

WHEREAS, the Akaka Bill is legislation that cannot be easily amended or unwound as it creates a new society with its own laws, jurisdiction, taxing powers, and all other features of an independent and sovereign entity; and

WHEREAS, the Akaka Bill will have long lasting impacts upon the State of Hawaii and the United State including subjecting residents of Hawaii to multiple jurisdictions in one community; places clouds on land titles and other rights that have been resolved for over one hundred years; creating future taxpayer liabilities because of the possible litigation rights Native Hawaiians may have against the State of Hawaii and the United States governments; gambling or other gaming impacts because the sovereign entity will have the right to choose its form without oversight from the federal government; and current federal Indian funding could be devastatingly wiped out as the largest "tribe" stands to be created providing benefits to over 400,000 people; and

WHEREAS, because of the vast impacts of the Akaka Bill, many of which will be devastating to the State of Hawaii and its people, the residents of Hawaii should be entitled to vote in a referendum on whether S.147 is enacted; and

WHEREAS, the right of those impacted by such vast laws deserve to be enfranchised to determine whether they should be subject to a new sovereign which will have the power over them and limit their rights with which they have become accustomed since statehood

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the House of Representatives concurring, that members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate oppose the passage of S.147, commonly known as the "Akaka Bill" until the bill is appropriately amended to provide the residents of Hawaii the ability to vote on whether the bills is enacted; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate oppose the Akaka Bill on its merits because the bill creates a race-based government and ultimately will create racial balkanization where different people of different races are subject to different laws, who live in the same community; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United state House of Representatives, Hawaii's congressional delegation, and to each of the presiding officers of the legislative bodies of each state of the United States of America.

Report Title:

Akaka Bill; Congress Oppose Unless Voters Approve