SSCR830

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 830

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: GOV. MSG. NO. 586

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Madam:

Your Committee on Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 586, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

Chairperson of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

G.M. No. 586

JOBIE MASAGATANI,

for a term to expire on 12-31-2014,

begs leave to report as follows:

Your Committee has reviewed the personal history, resume, and statements of the nominee, and finds Jobie Masagatani to have the necessary qualifications for the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission.

Your Committee received testimony in support of Jobie Masagatani from Governor Neil Abercrombie; Department of Human Resources Development; Department of the Attorney General; Department of Budget and Finance; Department of Defense; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Transportation; Department of Agriculture; Department of Accounting and General Services; Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Department of Public Safety; Department of Health; Department of Human Services; Office of Information Management and Technology; Hawaii Paroling Authority; Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation; Kamehameha Schools; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; University of Hawai‘i System; Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; O‘ahu Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Club; Kuakini Hawaiian Civic Club of Kona; Hawaiian Affairs Caucus, Democratic Party of Hawaii; The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii; Building Industry Association Hawaii; Sopogy; Sandwich Isles Communications, Inc.; Maku‘u Farmers Association; Fortus Property Group; Innovations Development Group; Hawai‘i Construction Alliance; Waiehu Kou Phase 3 Association, Inc.; Malu ‘ohai Residents' Association; Waimanalo Hawaiian Homes Association; Kauai Island Utility Cooperative; Papa Ola Lokahi; Urban Housing Communities; Kapolei Community Development Corporation; Ko‘olau Foundation; Ko‘olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club; Ke Ola Mamo; The Pacific Resource Partnership; Aupuni O Hawai‘i; ‘Ahahui Siwila Hawai‘i O Kapolei; SunPower Corporation, System, Inc.; Hawaii Medical Service Association Foundation; Villages of La‘i‘opua Master Association; Waiohuli Hawaiian Homesteaders Assn.; Lee Communications, Inc.; Partners in Development Foundation; Princess Kahanu Estates Association; West Hawaii Hawaiian Homes Commission; Auamo I Na Alaka‘i; Kekaha Hawaiian Homestead Association; Hawai‘i Maoli; ‘Ahahui ‘Aina Ho‘opulapula O Waiohuli; Pearl Harbor Hawaiian Civic Club; Special Olympics Hawaii; Indigenous Consultants, LLC; Rosehill and Associates; Kalamaula Homesteaders' Association; Dowling Company, Inc.; Leo A Daly; Ahupua‘a o Moloka‘i; Hoolehua Homestead Association; One Alii Kamiloloa Homestead Association; Kapaakea Homestead Association; Molokai Homestead Farms Alliance; Molokai Homestead Livestock Association; Kalamaula Mauka Homestead Association; Hoolehua Homestead Agriculture Association; Aukai Pacific LLC; C-III Realty Services LLC; and more than 800 individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to Jobie Masagatani from the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Sovereign Mokupuni Council O Oahu, Hoolehua Homesteads, Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly, Anahola Hawaiian Homes Association, Waianae Kai Homestead, and six individuals. Your Committee received comments from the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs.

Your Committee finds that Jobie Masagatani possesses the leadership, knowledge, and skill required to carry out the mission of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Jobie Masagatani graduated from the Kamehameha Schools with Honors in 1982. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the School of Education at Northwestern University and continued on to earn a Master's degree in Public Affairs/Urban and Regional Planning from Princeton University. She has held various jobs with increasing responsibilities over the years. She began her career as a Budget Examiner in the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President of the United States. She returned to Hawaii in 1990 and worked as a Land Investment Analyst for the Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate where, among other responsibilities, she assisted the development of the Kamehameha Schools Master Plan for Kaupulehu and helped to implement this plan. In 1993, she became a Project Manager for Hawaii Real Estate Research and Education Center at the University of Hawaii where she managed a $400,000 federal research grant given to the center to study residential leasehold issues.

Notably, she served as Deputy to the Chairman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission from 1995-2002 where she managed the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' ("Department") operations for 130 staff members. As Deputy, she initiated reforms to the Department's mortgage financing programs to reduce the financial risk of exposure to departmental assets; facilitated the implementation of a new federal program for Native Hawaiian Housing; oversaw the construction of the Lanikeha Community Center in Hoolehua, Molokai; and led the project team that responded to constitutional challenges to the Hawaiian Home Lands program.

Subsequently, she took a position as Assistant to the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Queen's Health Systems where she was instrumental in developing the strategic plan to address Native Hawaiian health issues. After her tenure at The Queen's Health Systems, she became Principal and Founder of Clarity Organizational Services, a strategic planning firm. In this position she assisted the Department in the development of the Kulia i ka Nuu self-governance program and revised the Department's administrative rules relating to the sale of homestead leases. She returned to public service when she was hired as the Public Policy Program Manger at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. In this position, she developed a foundation for the policy program to streamline their efforts through coordinated advocacy at the State Legislature. She utilized her collaborative style to engage stakeholders, beneficiaries, and executives in meaningful conversations and urged a conciliatory approach to addressing complex issues. Her efforts earned her advancement to Special Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

In addition to a wealth of professional experience, the nominee is affiliated with numerous communities throughout the State, many of which help to advance Native Hawaiians, including the Queen Liliuokalani Trust Trustee Compensation Committee, Hui Hanai Board of the Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center, Native Hawaiian Education Council, Kamehameha Schools Board of Advisors, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine Department of Native Hawaiian Health Community Advisory Board, U.S. Census Advisory Committee on the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders Population, and Affordable Housing Advisory Council Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle.

Currently, Jobie Masagatani is the Chairperson Designate of the Hawaiian Homes Commission and has expressed her commitment to five integral areas of the Department for her tenure as Chairperson. She is committed to stabilizing the Department's financial future; addressing homestead affordability issues plaguing beneficiaries; revitalizing the agriculture program; maximizing management of the Department's natural resources; and supporting community-based projects.

Your Committee heard opposition from a few agencies and individuals who expressed concern regarding the nominee's communication and leadership skills; her ability to bring groups together and facilitate resolutions of difficult issues; and her loyalty to Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. Specifically, there were concerns regarding the way the nominee sought to spend trust funds and her support of certain long-term community projects that would benefit Native Hawaiians. Your Committee finds that many of these viewpoints were expressed by a handful of beneficiaries who were disappointed by minor project delays due to the nominee's undertaking of due diligence befitting her position as Chairperson Designate. For example, in one project in Nanakuli, the nominee testified that the Department did not immediately sign-off on a development agreement because the developers had not provided the Department with a written commitment as to how beneficiaries would be provided for in the project although the Department was providing a free lease.

Your Committee finds that, despite the opposition, Jobie Masagatani has the credentials and ability to operate and straddle the competing interests of the State and the beneficiaries to the Hawaiian Trust. Your Committee finds that the nominee's experience as the Department's Deputy to the Chairman for seven years provides her with an acute understanding of the Department, its funding and operations, the complex issues surrounding the beneficiary obligations, and its legal responsibilities. As is evidenced by the testimony submitted in support of the nominee by her colleagues, public and private agencies, and individuals, Jobie Masagatani is a highly motivated public servant with a strong work ethic who takes a proactive approach to problem solving, seeks input and consensus on issues, quickly grasps complex issues, and communicates effectively in a positive and encouraging manner. Her vision and strength of character will enable her to set and maintain a firm course for the Department.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Tourism and 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 Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

BRICKWOOD GALUTERIA, Chair