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WHEREAS, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was created by delegates to the Constitutional Convention of Hawaii of 1978 to right the wrongs suffered by the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands; and

WHEREAS, delegates to the Constitutional Convention proposed a constitutional amendment to establish the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as a public trust, with the mandate to better the conditions of Native Hawaiians and the Hawaiian community in general; and

WHEREAS, through Act 196, Session Laws of Hawaii 1979, codified as chapter 10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was established as a semi-autonomous "self-governing body"; and

WHEREAS, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is the sole representative of the Hawaiian community with financial resources that include a public trust and state funds to assist Native Hawaiians and improve the conditions of the Hawaiian community; and

WHEREAS, programs and services benefiting Native Hawaiians are now in jeopardy because of legal challenges, as the number of lawsuits filed has increased ten-fold and plaintiffs have been persistent in advancing their cases; and

WHEREAS, funding for programs, services, and entitlements that benefit and improve the lives of Native Hawaiians are now in danger of being reduced or eliminated; and

WHEREAS, the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2007, S. 310 in the United States Senate and H.R. 505 in the United States House of Representatives, also known as the "Akaka Bill" has not received a full discussion and vote in Congress; and

WHEREAS, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, with participation from the Native Hawaiian community, is spearheading the creation of a Native Hawaiian governing entity that is recognized by the State of Hawaii and the United States government; and

WHEREAS, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs created a formal document, The Nation-Building Plan to Establish a Native Hawaiian Governing Entity, with participation from the Native Hawaiian community and the State of Hawaii to enable Native Hawaiians to preside over their own resources and assets and determine their own future; and

WHEREAS, the nation-building plan is being underwritten by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and includes the following components:

(1) Registration of Native Hawaiians in Kau Inoa, a campaign that gathers the names of people of Hawaiian ancestry who are willing to participate in the process of nation building;

(2) Development of an apportionment plan of representative districts based on the eligible voter population;

(3) Election of representative delegates who will attend a constitutional convention;

(4) Convening of a constitutional convention to create organic documents of the Native Hawaiian governing entity; and

(5) Ratification of the organic documents and its articles;

WHEREAS, the ratified organic documents and its articles will form the Native Hawaiian governing entity; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Legislature supports the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' Nation-Building Plan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Nation-Building Plan

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	53
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII