HCR33

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has a constitutional and fiduciary responsibility to nurture, uplift and house native Hawaiians; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 requires the legislature to make sufficient sums available for: (1) the development of home, agriculture, farm and ranch lots;(2)home, agriculture, aquaculture, farm and ranch loans; and(3) rehabilitation projects including, but not limited to, educational, economic, political, social and cultural processes by which the general welfare and conditions of native Hawaiians are thereby improved; and

WHEREAS, one hundred years after the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act there are over 28,000 eligible native Hawaiians waiting to receive land; and

WHEREAS, the cost of living in the state of Hawai‘i is among the highest in the United States; and

WHEREAS, native Hawaiian families living in Hawai‘i have the lowest median family income of all major ethnic groups in the state; and

WHEREAS, among all major ethnic groups in Hawai`i, native Hawaiians in the public-school system have the lowest graduation rate, score disproportionately lower than non-Hawaiians on standardized tests, and test results continue to show a lack of proficiency in both Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy; and

WHEREAS, native Hawaiians have the shortest life expectancy and exhibit higher mortality rates than the total population due to heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes; and

WHEREAS, almost 30 percent of the homeless population is comprised of native Hawaiians; and

WHEREAS, native Hawaiians have the highest poverty rates for individuals and families, with 12.6 percent of families and 45,420 individuals (15.5 percent of the population) living below the poverty level; and

WHEREAS, only 38.6 percent of registered voters turned out to vote, with native Hawaiians being the least represented demographic in that percentage; and

WHEREAS, over 40 percent of people incarcerated under Hawai‘i jurisdiction in 2018 were reported as being native Hawaiian; and

WHEREAS, these critical indicators suggest that the needs of the native Hawaiian community have not been met; and

WHEREAS, due to the severe lack of prosperity within the native Hawaiian community and the high cost of living, especially regarding housing prices, native Hawaiians are migrating to the mainland at a pace faster than other ethnic groups residing in the Hawaiian Islands; and

WHEREAS, If the native Hawaiian community continues to migrate to the mainland in search of prosperity at the current pace, Hawaii's cultural identity could be lost; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, the Senate concurring, requests that the Governor give an "Annual Report on the State of the Native Hawaiian People"; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the "Annual Report on the State of the Native Hawaiian People" be given following the State of the State and State of the Judiciary addresses; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Annual Report on the State of the Native Hawaiian People shall include, but not be limited to statistics and reports regarding average income, health, education, homelessness, voter participation, incarceration levels, home ownership, the number of native Hawaiians who have received land through the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, the number of native Hawaiians still waiting for land; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Hawaiian Affairs; Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Water, Land, and Hawaiian Affairs, Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

State of the State of the Native Hawaiian People

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	33
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII