Hawaii House Bill HCR130

Hawaii 2024 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/8/24
• Refer: 3/13/24

Caption

Urging The United States Department Of The Interior To Work With The Office Of The Governor, Department Of Hawaiian Home Lands, United States Congressional Delegations From Hawaii, And Sovereign Council Of Hawaiian Homestead Associations To Make A Determination In Support Of Act 80, Session Laws Of Hawaii 2017.

Impact

The resolution emphasizes the importance of Act 80 in supporting native Hawaiians' self-sufficiency and cultural preservation. By expanding eligibility criteria, the bill aims to retain generational leases, reducing the potential loss of homestead lands among the elderly lessees who may pass away without qualified successors. This change targets the need for inclusion and empowerment within native Hawaiian communities, enabling them to manage and benefit from lands entrusted to them.

Summary

HCR130 is a House Concurrent Resolution urging the United States Department of the Interior to collaborate with various stakeholders, including the Office of the Governor and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, to advance Act 80. This act, enacted in 2017, aimed to lower the minimum blood quantum requirement for eligibility in the Hawaiian Home Lands program from one quarter to one thirty-second. This proposed change is essential for allowing greater access to land and housing for native Hawaiians, especially those who fulfill the definition of native Hawaiian and may be excluded under the current requirements.

Contention

One of the notable points of contention surrounding Act 80 and its implementation is the requirement for congressional consent due to the alterations it proposes to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920. The Department of the Interior's review highlighted concerns regarding the inequitable effects on beneficiaries and their successors, which has led to delays and further questions on the implications of the act. The resolution calls on the Department to engage more actively with the state to expedite the determination necessary for the act's approval, underpinning the tensions between federal oversight and state initiatives for native issues.