HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

50

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the auditor to conduct a management audit of the state historic preservation division of the department of land and natural resources.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the importance of conserving, preserving, and developing historic and cultural objects and places for the public is established in article IX, sections 7 and 9 of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, the importance of the protecting historic and cultural property for the education, inspiration, pleasure, and enrichment of all citizens of the State is codified in state law as chapter 6E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which expressly established within the Department of Land and Natural Resources a comprehensive historic preservation program to be administered by the State Historic Preservation Division; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State Historic Preservation Division officially became a division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources in 1990; prior to 1990, the Division's functions were managed by the State Parks Division of the Department; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State Historic Preservation Division is comprised of three branches, archaeology, architecture, and history and culture, and is responsible for administering the historic preservation program by:

 

     (1)  Development of an on-going program of historical, architectural, and archaeological research and development, including surveys, excavations, scientific recording, interpretation, and publications on the State's historical and cultural resources;

 

     (2)  Acquisition of historic or cultural properties, real or personal, in fee or in any lesser interest, by gift, purchase, condemnation, devise, bequest, land exchange, or other means; preservation, restoration, administration, or transference of the property; and the charging of reasonable admissions to that property;

 

     (3)  Development of a statewide survey and inventory to identify and document historic properties, aviation artifacts, and burial sites, including all those owned by the State and the counties;

 

     (4)  Preparation of information for the Hawaii register of historic places and listing on the national register of historic places;

 

     (5)  Preparation, review, and revisions of a state historic preservation plan, including budget requirements and land use recommendations;

 

     (6)  Application for and receipt of gifts, grants, technical assistance, and other funding from public and private sources for the purposes of this chapter;

 

     (7)  Provision of technical and financial assistance to the counties and public and private agencies involved in historic preservation activities;

 

     (8)  Coordination of activities of the counties in accordance with the state plan for historic preservation;

 

     (9)  Stimulation of public interest in historic preservation, including the development and implementation of interpretive programs for historic properties listed on or eligible for the Hawaii register of historic places;

 

    (10)  Coordination of the evaluation and management of burial sites as provided in section 6E-43, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

 

    (11)  Acquisition of burial sites in fee or in any lesser interest, by gift, purchase, condemnation, devise, bequest, land exchange, or other means, to be held in trust;

 

    (12)  Submittal of an annual report to the Governor and Legislature detailing the accomplishments of the year, recommendations for changes in the state plan or future programs relating to historic preservation, and an accounting of all income, expenditures, and the fund balance of the Hawaii historic preservation special fund;

 

    (13)  Regulation of archaeological activities throughout the State;

 

    (14)  Employment of sufficient professional and technical staff for the purposes of this chapter which may be in accordance with chapter 76, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

 

    (15)  The charging of fees to at least partially defray the costs of administering sections 6E-3(13), 6E-8, and 6E-42, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

 

    (16)  Adoption of rules in accordance with chapter 91, necessary to carry out the purposes of chapter 6E, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

    (17)  Development and adoption, in consultation with the office of Hawaiian affairs native historic preservation council, of rules governing permits for access by native Hawaiians and Hawaiians to cultural, historic, and pre-contact sites and monuments; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2002, based upon concerns about the management and operations of the State Historic Preservation Division, including delays in processing county, state, and federal project applications and permits, recurrent backlogs in reviewing compliance reports, difficulty in contacting staff for information, frustrations concerning the burial sites program, the Legislature, by Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 79, S.D. 1, requested the Auditor to conduct a program and financial audit of the State Historic Preservation Division; and

 

     WHEREAS, an Audit of the State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources was submitted by the Auditor in December 2002 to the Governor and the Legislature; and

    

     WHEREAS, the 2002 Audit reflected a number of troubling issues and problems within the Division and recommended that the Governor intervene to ensure that management of the Division is improved and that the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and the Administrator of the State Historic Preservation Division take steps to improve the protections of the State's historic properties and to prevent the misuse, abuse, and theft of the Division's limited resources; and 

 

     WHEREAS, despite the issues and recommendations of the Auditor's report in 2002, complaints continue to be aimed at the Division for its recent handling of ancient remains and historic sites, raising concern that the State's cultural and historical resources are not being adequately protected and preserved; and

 

     WHEREAS, in the last several years in particular, the Division's protection of Hawaiian historic sites has been highly criticized for being understaffed and lacking archeological expertise; other complaints have included accusations of neglect in maintaining reports and an inventory of historic sites, the credibility or appropriateness of the credentials of the Division's previous Administrator, whose management style allegedly resulted in at least nineteen qualified employees leaving the Division before the Administrator resigned under pressure in 2007, based upon issues relating primarily to complaints of mismanagement of native Hawaiian burials and inappropriate treatment of ancestral bones; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite the appointment of a new Administrator in 2008, the many complaints about the Division's mishandling of historic sites and ancient remains, including the recent bulldozing of a heiau; management and staffing issues; and the continuation of stalled projects because of backlogged paper work not completed by the Division, resulted in a federal assessment of the Division by the National Park Service in July 2009; and

 

     WHEREAS, in response to the federal assessment by the National Park Services, an official of the State Historic Preservation Division acknowledged that the Division lacks qualified staff, in part because they are unable to fill positions due to a hiring freeze imposed by the Governor, and is hampered by defective equipment, including the Division's Geographical Information System, which has not been updated since 2004, and a broken tracking system; and

 

     WHEREAS, although the July 2009 federal assessment of the Division by the National Park Services has not produced a final report as of this writing, if the Division fails to meet federal mandates, it could lose federal funding for the Division to fulfill its responsibility to implement the National Preservation Act in the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite the audit conducted in 2002, the State Historic Preservation Division continues to have unresolved issues that endanger the protection and preservation of cultural and historical resources of the State; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a management audit of the State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, in conducting the management audit, the Auditor is requested to consider any findings and recommendations resulting from the July 2009 assessment of the State Historic Preservation Division conducted by the National Park Service; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor's report is requested to address, but not be limited to, allegations concerning the following issues:

 

(1)  The State Historic Preservation Division's relationship with the burial councils;

 

(2)  The failure of the Division to properly document, reinter, and preserve historic artifacts, including  iwi, or human bones, on numerous occasions;

 

(3)  The current status of the geographic information system and its management;

 

(4)  Archive management;

 

(5)  Existing backlog of departmental reviews and advisory opinions and the Division's plans and procedures to eliminate the backlog;

 

(6)  Qualifications of the Division Administrator;

 

(7)  The organizational structure of the Division, including hiring practices, staffing coverage,   position descriptions, vacancies, transition procedures, communications during staff turnovers, and facilities;

 

(8)  Compliance with the Federal Historic Preservation Grant Program;

 

(9)  Compliance with the project review process under chapter 6E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and applicable rules;

 

(10) Compliance with consultation responsibilities under Section 6 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended; and

 

(11)  Any additional basic management issues presented; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2011; and

 

    

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Auditor, the Governor, the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, and the Administrator of the State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

DLNR; Historic Preservation Division; Mgmt Audit