STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3653

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2208

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Water and Land, to which was referred H.B. No. 2208 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands for the acquisition of land in East Oahu to be developed by the Department of Hawaiian Homelands for affordable housing units.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and three individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Center for Hawaiian Sovereignty Studies and one individual.

Your Committees find that Oahu has the largest demand for homesteading. Your Committees further find that one of the recommendations of the Oahu Island Plan, adopted by the Hawaiian Homelands Commission in 2014, is to acquire new lands for homesteading. This measure supports the Oahu Island Plan by appropriating funds to enable the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to purchase land for development of affordable housing in East Oahu, an area where the Department for Hawaiian Home Lands currently has no landholdings to develop affordable housing units.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Water and Land that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2208, and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Water and Land,

________________________________ KAIALI'I KAHELE, Chair

________________________________ MAILE S.L. SHIMABUKURO, Chair