STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3344

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2806

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 2

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 2806, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NATIVE HAWAIIANS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to facilitate the preservation and protection of Hawaiian culture, native Hawaiian burial sites, and the State's environment.

Specifically, the measure:

(1)  Establishes the Aha Moku Advisory Committee within the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, which may advise the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs;

(2)  Appropriates an unspecified sum for fiscal year 2012-2013 for the administrative costs related to carrying out the duties of the Aha Moku Advisory Committee; and

(3)  Establishes a reduced quorum requirement for island burial council meetings.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly, Sovereign Mokupuni Council O Oahu, and Papa Ola Lokahi.

     Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Aupuni O Hawaii, and one individual.  Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology.

     Your Committee finds that the aha moku system consists of best practices derived from the indigenous resource management practices of moku (regional) boundaries, which acknowledge the land's natural contours, the specific resources found there, and the methodology necessary to sustain those resources and the community.  This measure authorizes the Aha Moku Advisory Committee to advise the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs on issues related to land and natural resources management through the aha moku system, which will help sustain the State's natural resources, promote community education, and foster cultural awareness regarding the benefits of the aha moku system.

     Your Committee also finds that because island burial councils have experienced difficulty in meeting quorum requirements, reducing the quorum requirements is necessary to allow the island burial councils to meet and fulfill their duties.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1)  Placing the Aha Moku Advisory Committee within the Department of Land and Natural Resources, instead of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs;

(2)  Amending references to the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to the Board of Land and Natural Resources;

(3)  Clarifying language concerning the island burial councils' difficulty meeting quorum requirements; and

(4)  Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2806, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2806, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair