HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.C.R. NO. 207 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 STATE OF HAWAII HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING the Department of Land and Natural Resources to conduct a comprehensive economic analysis of all military-leased lands.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.C.R. NO. 207
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.C.R. NO.
207
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
URGING the Department of Land and Natural Resources to conduct a comprehensive economic analysis of all military-leased lands.
WHEREAS, Public Law 103-150 was enacted by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 23, 1993, which formally acknowledged the role of the United States in the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and apologizing for depriving Native Hawaiians of their unrelinquished sovereignty, rights, and property interests in the Crown and Government Lands, referred to as the public land trust; and WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, as trustee of the public land trust, has a duty of care to the beneficiaries of the trust, including Native Hawaiians and the citizens of Hawaii; and WHEREAS, the United States military currently occupies more than two hundred thousand acres of the public land trust, including parcels at Ke Awalau o Puuloa (Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam), Wahiawa (Schofield Barracks), Mokapu (Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi), Pōhakuloa (Pohakuloa Training Area), Nohili (Pacific Missile Range Facility), Kahauiki (Fort Shafter), and Halawa (Camp Smith); and WHEREAS, several military land leases in Hawaiʻi will expire in 2029, including lands at Pōhakuloa, Kahuku, Kawailoa, and Mākua; WHEREAS, these trust lands have suffered significant environmental and economic degradation due to their use by the United States military, including unexploded ordnances, depleted uranium, contaminated drinking water, shattered caprock, and destroyed structures; and WHEREAS, the existing lease agreements do not adequately account for the value of these lands, nor their remediation and lost economic opportunities; and WHEREAS, it is in the public interest for these lands to be remediated and returned to beneficial public use without delay; and WHEREAS, lease renewal negotiations between the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the United States military have not included a transparent public process; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is urged to conduct a comprehensive economic analysis of all military-leased lands that assesses the following: (1) Lost economic opportunities from the unavailability of these lands for beneficial trust purposes pursuant to section 5(f) of Public Law 86-3, including agriculture, education, and housing, and the betterment of conditions of Native Hawaiians; (2) The comprehensive costs for cleanup, including contaminants and unexploded ordnance of trust lands; (3) The costs of restoration and development of these trust lands to productive economic use; (4) Lost income to the State had these trust lands been leased at fair market rents, instead of the $1 leases agreed to between the State and the United States; and (5) Lost tax dollars to the State had these trust lands been utilized for productive purposes under section 5(f) of Public Law 86-3; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is urged to establish a formal public process for the lease renewal negotiations, including public hearings, community consultations, and stakeholder engagement, ensuring that all affected parties have an opportunity to provide input before any new agreements are signed; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to submit a report, detailing the findings of the comprehensive economic analysis and outlining its plans for future lease negotiations, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources. OFFERED BY: _____________________________
WHEREAS, Public Law 103-150 was enacted by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 23, 1993, which formally acknowledged the role of the United States in the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and apologizing for depriving Native Hawaiians of their unrelinquished sovereignty, rights, and property interests in the Crown and Government Lands, referred to as the public land trust; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, as trustee of the public land trust, has a duty of care to the beneficiaries of the trust, including Native Hawaiians and the citizens of Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, the United States military currently occupies more than two hundred thousand acres of the public land trust, including parcels at Ke Awalau o Puuloa (Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam), Wahiawa (Schofield Barracks), Mokapu (Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi), Pōhakuloa (Pohakuloa Training Area), Nohili (Pacific Missile Range Facility), Kahauiki (Fort Shafter), and Halawa (Camp Smith); and
WHEREAS, several military land leases in Hawaiʻi will expire in 2029, including lands at Pōhakuloa, Kahuku, Kawailoa, and Mākua;
WHEREAS, these trust lands have suffered significant environmental and economic degradation due to their use by the United States military, including unexploded ordnances, depleted uranium, contaminated drinking water, shattered caprock, and destroyed structures; and
WHEREAS, the existing lease agreements do not adequately account for the value of these lands, nor their remediation and lost economic opportunities; and
WHEREAS, it is in the public interest for these lands to be remediated and returned to beneficial public use without delay; and
WHEREAS, lease renewal negotiations between the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the United States military have not included a transparent public process; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is urged to conduct a comprehensive economic analysis of all military-leased lands that assesses the following:
(1) Lost economic opportunities from the unavailability of these lands for beneficial trust purposes pursuant to section 5(f) of Public Law 86-3, including agriculture, education, and housing, and the betterment of conditions of Native Hawaiians;
(2) The comprehensive costs for cleanup, including contaminants and unexploded ordnance of trust lands;
(3) The costs of restoration and development of these trust lands to productive economic use;
(4) Lost income to the State had these trust lands been leased at fair market rents, instead of the $1 leases agreed to between the State and the United States; and
(5) Lost tax dollars to the State had these trust lands been utilized for productive purposes under section 5(f) of Public Law 86-3; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is urged to establish a formal public process for the lease renewal negotiations, including public hearings, community consultations, and stakeholder engagement, ensuring that all affected parties have an opportunity to provide input before any new agreements are signed; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to submit a report, detailing the findings of the comprehensive economic analysis and outlining its plans for future lease negotiations, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.
OFFERED BY: _____________________________
OFFERED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title: DLNR; Military-Leased Lands; Economic Analysis
Report Title:
DLNR; Military-Leased Lands; Economic Analysis