HB1470

SECTION 1. Section 669-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§669-1 Object of action. (a) Action may be brought by any person against another person who claims, or who may claim adversely to the plaintiff, an estate or interest in real property, for the purpose of determining the adverse claim.

(b) Action for the purpose of establishing title to a parcel of real property of five acres or less may be brought by any person who has been in adverse possession of the real property for not less than twenty years. Action for the purpose of establishing title to a parcel of real property of greater than five acres may be brought by any person who had been in adverse possession of the real property for not less than twenty years prior to November 7, 1978, or for not less than earlier applicable time periods of adverse possession. For purposes of this section, any person claiming title by adverse possession shall show that such person acted in good faith. Good faith means that, under all the facts and circumstances, a reasonable person would believe that the person has an interest in title to the lands in question and such belief is based on inheritance, a written instrument of conveyance, or the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.

(c) Action brought to claim property of five acres or less on the basis of adverse possession may be asserted in good faith by any person not more than once in twenty years, after November 7, 1978.

(d) Action under subsection (a) or (b) shall be brought in the circuit court of the circuit in which the property is situated.

(e) Action may be brought by any person to quiet title to land by accretion; provided that no action shall be brought by any person other than the State to quiet title to land accreted along the ocean after May 20, 2003, except that a private property owner whose eroded land has been restored by accretion may also bring such an action for the restored portion. The person bringing the action shall prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the accretion is natural and permanent and that the land accreted before or on May 20, 2003. The person bringing the action shall supply the office of environmental quality control with notice of the action for publication in the office's periodic bulletin in compliance with section 343‑3(c)(4). The quiet title action shall not be decided by the court unless the office of environmental quality control has properly published notice of the action in the office's periodic bulletin.

As used in this section, "permanent" means that the accretion has been in existence for at least twenty years. The accreted portion of land shall be considered within the conservation district. Land accreted after May 20, 2003, shall be public land except as otherwise provided in this section. Prohibited uses are governed by section 183-45.

(f) In any action brought under this section when the land claimed by the plaintiff is kuleana land:

(1) Upon the request of a defendant, the court shall order the parties into mandatory mediation to seek a resolution of the action;

(2) Upon the request of defendants in separate actions that are commenced by the plaintiff, or by the plaintiffs for the same real party in interest, for kuleana lands in the same circuit of the circuit court in which the property is situated, the court shall consolidate the separate actions into a single action;

(3) The plaintiff shall not seek and shall not be awarded the extinguishment or alienation of the defendant's access to the land for native Hawaiian cultural and traditional practices; and

(4) The plaintiff shall not recover costs, expenses, or attorney's fees from the defendant.

For purposes of this chapter, "kuleana land" means land granted to native tenants pursuant to L 1850, p. 202, entitled "An Act Confirming Certain Resolutions of the King and Privy Council, Passed on the 21^st Day of December, A.D. 1849, Granting to the Common People Allodial Titles for Their Own Lands and House Lots, and Certain Other Privileges", as originally enacted and as amended."

SECTION 2. Section 669-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:

"(e) In any action brought under section 669-1, the office of Hawaiian affairs shall be joined as a defendant, by service upon the office of Hawaiian affairs, when:

(1) The land claimed by the plaintiff is kuleana land; and

(2) The plaintiff has reason to believe that an owner of an inheritable interest in the kuleana land died intestate or died partially intestate and there is or was no taker under article II of the Hawaii uniform probate code.

[For purposes of this subsection, "kuleana land" means that land granted to native tenants pursuant to L 1850, p. 202, entitled "An Act Confirming Certain Resolutions of the King and Privy Council, Passed on the 21st Day of December, A.D. 1849, Granting to the Common People Allodial Titles for Their Own Lands and House Lots, and Certain Other Privileges", as originally enacted and as amended.]"

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2019.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1470
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII