Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 3, 1 March 1991 — Untitled [ARTICLE]

The following proposed amendments to H.B. 895 and its eompanion S.B. 1345, were presented in testimony by Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation attorney Alan Murakami to the House of Committee on Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs and to the Senate Committee on Housing and Hawaiian Affairs. OHA has asked both committees to consider the proposed amendments as presented by NHLC, . . to also reflect the uiews of the Office ofHawaiian Affairs."

Proposed Amendments to House Bill 895/Senate Bill 1345 1. Allow for the right to appeal any determination of the claims board. Claimants should share appeal rights similar to that of anyone making claims against the state;

2. Change the nomination process by giving OHA power to appoint two members, with all four appointments coming from nominations submitted by native Hawaiian organizations. The governor should share appointment power with the state agency primarily responsible for native Hawaiians. There should also be a limit of three nominations sent to the governor per position and a procedure for assembling a nomination body, comprised of representatives from the Hawaiian community. That body should also be able to nominate the judge, who could also be a former judge;

3. Liberalize the definition of damages to avoid overly technical restrictions on claims and "to address controversies in the spirit of making things right;" 4. Lengthening the period of claims from two years from the adoption of rules to five years, unless further amended by the legislature after a determination and certification that all claims have been resolved and that best efforts have been made to publicize the claims process and make it available to claimants;

5. Allow the board's legal advisor to be anyone other than the attorney general. This arrangement is unacceptable, since it places the attorney general in a conflict of interest; 6. Allow for survival of claims upon death in specified cases of hanm that make it just to award compensation, land, or other relief as appropriate so the process is flexible; 7. Allow for and provide funding for the proposed office of the advocate to provide representation to those unable to afford or obtain legal assistance to help beneficiaries with the presentation of claims to the board;

8. Authorize adequate salaries for commissioners, so they ean be full-time positions similar to state judges; 9. Provide for additional staffing to support the work of the board. The support staff would be responsible for processing claims, publicizing the board's work, filing reports with the legislature and doing research and investigative work for the board;

10. Provide funds for investigators, appraisers, surveyors, or other technical experts necessary for board determinations; 1 1 . Provide for presentation of claims for abuses of trust lands or breaches of trust for inaction affecting classes of people; and 12. Extend the period for rule-making to no more than one year. Six months is too short, given the laek of staffing.