STAND. COM. REP. NO. 18

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 507

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 507, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

Chairperson of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

G.M. No. 507

ALBERT (ALAPAKI) NAHALE-A, for a term to expire December 31, 2014,

begs leave to report as follows:

     Your Committee has reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by the nominee and finds Alapaki Nahale-a to possess the requisite qualifications to be nominated as Chairperson of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Alapaki Nahale-a from Governor Neil Abercrombie; the University of Hawaii - West O‘ahu; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Trustee Robert K. Lindsey, Jr., Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Mayor William P. Kenoi, County of Hawai‘i; City & County of Honolulu, Department of Community Services; Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs; Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement; West Hawai‘i Explorations Academy Public Charter School; Pae ‘Aina Communications; Robert K.U. Kihune, Chief Executive Officer, Sandwich Isles Communications, Inc.; Papa Ola Lokahi; Harry Saunders, President, Castle & Cooke Hawai‘i; Stubenberg & Durrett, LLLP; Belt Collins; Kewalo Hawaiian Homestead Community Association; Keaukaha Pana‘ewa Farmers Association; Hawaii Association of Independent Schools; PBR Hawaii & Associates Inc.; Molokai Homestead Farmers Alliance; Hawaii Carpenters Union; Kapolei Community Development Corporation; Kanu O Ka ‘Aina Learning ‘Ohana; United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers, Local 221; Kua O Ka La PCS; Waimea Hawaiian Homesteaders Association; Waimanalo Hawaiian Homes Association; Richard J. Dahl, President and Chief Executive Officer, James Campbell Company LLC; Kapolei Property Development LLC; Robert H. Armstrong, President, Armstrong Companies; Lanihau Properties, LLC; Hawaii Laborers' Union; Ka‘ala Farm, Inc.; Ko‘olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club; Dee Jay Mailer, Chief Executive Officer, Kamehameha Schools; Malu‘ohai Residents Association; Kalawahine Streamside Association; Ke Aloha O Ko Kakou Aina; Barry T. Taniguchi, President, KTA Super Stores; Robert W. Brant, President and Chief Executive Officer, Gentry Homes, Ltd.; Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly; O‘ahu Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs; Stanford Carr, President, Stanford Carr Development, LLC; The Resort Group; The Pacific Resource Partnership; General Contractors Association of Hawaii; Delta Construction Corporation; Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce; ‘Aha Kiole Advisory Committee; Ahupua‘a O Moloka‘i; Lo‘ihi Communications; International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 50; Kapolei High School; Kihei Charter School; Dowling Company, Inc.; La‘i‘opua 2020; Maku‘u Farmers Association; Wai‘anae Valley Homesteaders Association; Big Island Toyota, Inc.; Papakolea Community Development Corporation; Kula No Na Po‘e Hawai‘i; Ka‘iulani 4 General Contractors; D. Otani Produce, Inc.; Hunt Development Group; Kaupe‘a Homestead Association; ‘Aha Punana Leo, Inc.; City Square Shopping Center; Kaumana Hawaiian Homestead Association; Erskine Architects, Inc.; Puko‘a Kani ‘Aina Community Development Corporation; Keaukaha Community Association; Plumbers and Fitters Union of Hawaii, UA Local 675; Hawaii Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust; Maku‘u Farmers Association; Lahaina Hawaiian Civic Club; Princess Kaiulani Hawaiian Civic Club; Pearl Harbor Hawaiian Civic Club; Safeway Inc., and over fifty individuals.

Alapaki Nahale-a has served as a member of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, representing East Hawaii, since 2008.  In addition, he is currently the Executive Director of the Hawaii Charter Schools Network and a former President of the organization's board.  Mr. Nahale-a was the Director of Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo Hawaiian Immersion Public Charter School in Keaukaha, Hawaii, for six years, and served as a local school board member.  Prior to his work on behalf of Hawaii's charter schools, he held a series of community development positions with Hawaii Community College, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, and Rural Community Assistance Corporation.  Mr. Nahale-a also has five years of experience with the County of Hawaii as a Legislative Auditor Assistant and Fiscal and Program Review Auditor.  He is involved in numerous community organizations and has served as a board member of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, Kuikahi Mediation Center, and Kako‘o Ka ‘Umeke.  Mr. Nahale-a is graduate of Kamehameha Schools, where he was active in student government and campus life, and holds a B.A. degree in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Your Committee finds that through his work as a Commissioner, Mr. Nahale-a is well versed in the directives, responsibilities, and operations of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, as well as the challenges the Department faces in meeting the needs of its beneficiaries and the Hawaiian community.  His strong financial background and community development experience will be a valuable asset in building consensus for the Department's initiatives in the coming years.

Your Committee believes that the life experience Mr. Nahale-a brings to this appointment is equally compelling.  His roots are firmly embedded in the Hawaiian homestead communities of Keaukaha and Pana‘ewa and as one testifier noted, "Mr. Nahale-a has walked the walk of we beneficiaries, lived and labored on the lands, tasted the bitterness in being a native Hawaiian, and even in this youthful time of his, understands the plight of his people and what must be done to make a difference in all of our lives."

In his responses to your Committee, Mr. Nahale-a acknowledged the challenge of making a difference – in the Department's response to the waiting list; in the necessity for greater autonomy; in the resolution of jurisdictional problems such as permit and zoning requirements; and in the development of financial resources to replace the $30,000,000 annual payments appropriated through Act 14, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 1995, which will end in 2015.  He also stressed that the work would be collaborative and has already reached out to beneficiaries and the Hawaiian community for their mana‘o.

Your Committee commends Mr. Nahale-a for accepting the responsibilities and challenges of the Chairperson of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and for his commitment to those he serves.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

BRICKWOOD GALUTERIA, Chair