STAND. COM. REP. NO. 555

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1546

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1546 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE BUDGET OF THE OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to allow the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to continue to work for the betterment of the conditions of Native Hawaiians by appropriating funds to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' fiscal biennium 2007-2009 budget.

     Specifically, this measure requests an appropriation of funds for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' operating budget and a capital improvements project for the construction of the Kakaako Culture Center and Office Building.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

     The Office of Hawaiian Affairs was established under Article XII, section 5, of the state constitution, and created for the purposes of working for the betterment of the conditions of Native Hawaiians; to be the principal agency responsible for the development and coordination of programs and activities relating to Native Hawaiians other than those programs administered by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; and to be an advocate for Native Hawaiians.

     The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is requesting an appropriation of moneys from the general fund for the Office to provide social services to Office of Hawaiian Affairs beneficiaries, educational enrichment programs for Native Hawaiian children in grades kindergarten to twelfth, and legal services and legal representation to Office of Hawaiian Affairs beneficiaries for quiet title actions and assistance with ahupua‘a and kuleana tenant rights.  Your Committee finds that appropriating funds to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs will enable the Office to serve the purposes, which are mandated in the state constitution under chapter 10, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of style and consistency.

     With respect to legal services and representation, your Committee has concerns about the amount of funds in the Office of Hawaiian Affair's conflict fund, and the effectiveness of the fund.  Your Committee is concerned about the levels of services and the number of beneficiaries that the conflict fund could adequately serve.  Thus, your Committee has requested that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs submit to the Legislature a written report regarding the use of moneys in the conflict fund and its effectiveness in providing legal services and representation for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries.  The report is required to be submitted to the Legislature twenty days prior to the convening of the 2008 Regular Session.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1546, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1546, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

RUSSELL S. KOKUBUN, Chair