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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
203 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE RESOLUTION
encouraging kamehameha schools to consider the practice of land exchanges to facilitate the development of hawaiian homesteads in locations that better serve the hawaiian people.
WHEREAS, Native Hawaiians make up over 30
percent of the homeless population in Hawaii and many of these individuals and
families receive or are waiting to receive services from the State; and
WHEREAS, the median household income of Native
Hawaiians consistently ranks below the state average, leaving over 15 percent
of Native Hawaiians below the poverty level; and
WHEREAS, Native Hawaiians are over
represented in high school drop-out rates, and only 11 percent of the
population holds a bachelor's degree; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Hawaiian Home
Lands only has awarded approximately 9,700 homestead leases since the creation
of this department nearly 100 years ago;
WHEREAS, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
has not significantly improved the housing rate for its beneficiaries in the
past several decades due to factors like unreliable funding and competing
needs; and
WHEREAS, many Native Hawaiians choose not
to apply for Hawaiian homestead leases because of the daunting size of the
waiting lists, the slow rate at which people on the waiting lists receive
leases, and the relative geographic isolation of the communities in which
Hawaiian homestead leases are available; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that there
are over 34,000 potential applicants for homestead leases, in addition to the
27,000-plus applicants on the waiting list;
WHEREAS, Kamehameha Schools is Hawaii's
largest private landowner, making it the third-largest landholder in the state,
behind only the state and federal governments in terms of total acreage held;
and
WHEREAS, Kamehameha Schools' purpose is to
create educational opportunities in perpetuity to improve the capability and
well-being of people of Hawaiian ancestry; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of
Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular
Session of 2019, in efforts to mitigate the struggles of Native Hawaiians, that
Kamehameha Schools is encouraged to pursue effective partnerships with
community organizations and non-profits to support their educational and
outreach efforts; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Kamehameha
Schools and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands are encouraged to partner
with each other in any useful format outside of H.R. No. 21, adopted in 2016;
and
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Kamehameha Schools is encouraged to review owned
properties outside of the urban core that may be useful for development by the
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and consider land exchanges in pursuit of
their mission; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified
copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Chair of the
Hawaiian Homes Commission, the Chief Executive Officer of the Office of
Hawaiian Affairs, the Chief Executive Officer of Kamehameha Schools, and the Chairman
of the Board of Trustees of Kamehameha Schools.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Native Hawaiians; Kamehameha Schools