STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3651

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 125

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 125 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS TO ESTABLISH A WORKING GROUP TO RETURN CROWN LANDS TO NATIVE HAWAIIANS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to establish a working group to return Crown Lands to Native Hawaiians.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and five individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Center for Hawaiian Sovereignty Studies and one individual.

Your Committee finds that in 1993, the United States Congress passed Public Law 103-150 (Apology Resolution) confirming the illegal actions of United States agents resulting in the overthrow of the monarchy of Hawaii in violation of treaties between the United States and the sovereign Kingdom of Hawaii. The Apology Resolution confirms that 1,800,000 acres of Crown and Government Lands were thereafter ceded to the United States without consent of or compensation to the Native Hawaiian people. The purpose of this measure is to request the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to establish a working group to return Crown Lands to Native Hawaiians.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Replacing the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands with Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law as the entity requested to establish the working group;

(2) Amending its title accordingly; and

(3) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 125, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 125, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs,

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MAILE S.L. SHIMABUKURO, Chair