Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 7, 1 Iulai 1995 — HSEC forced to postpone plebiscite [ARTICLE]

HSEC forced to postpone plebiscite

by Deborah L. Ward The Hawaiian Sovereignty Elections Council, frustrated by a six-month freeze of its funds by Governor Cayetano whieh has been tied to the state budget shortfall, voted at their June 15 meeting to postpone the plebiscite of Hawaiian voters originally scheduled for the end of 1995. However, they vowed to continue their mandated educational public outreach under Act 200

and to hold the plebiscite "as funds become available." HSEC members were uncertain when that future date might be, but some hoped it could be carried out by the end of the new fiscal year, depending on when, and whether state funds were released. Although a bill to extend HSEC funding was expected to become law, the HSEC was uncertain over whether funding would then be released. Council members have

been examining their options depending on whether or not the funding bill is signed and the money released. Some discussion has begun on the pros and cons of forming a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation that could accept donations to assist in the education/registration and plebiscite work if state general funds are cut off. HSEC members were unclear whether the money OHA has provided as a match could be released and used separately.

The freeze has held up two major eontracts for work that the HSEC considers essential to assisting Hawaiians to make an informed decision. One, a mass media campaign, would include production of a 30-minute "infomercial" to be aired on television, predominantly in Hawai'i, but also nationally. The campaign includes public relations efforts throughout the state, such as on talk shows, and advertisements in newspapers and on radio. The second contract, for a voter registration system,

would involve setting up the computer equipment and software programs to handle the voter registrations, making labels for the plebiscite ballot mailout, and counting ballots. HSEC launched its first media outreach in January and has been registering voters since then. However, it has had to limit its educational efforts to smaller statewide presentations using volunteer help, because it lacks money to advertise to greater numbers of Hawaiians in Hawai'i and out of state. Hawaiians here and overseas are eligible to vote by mail, but must register in advance through the HSEC. (OHAO-reg-istered voters are considered automatically registered; however, HSEC is sending eonfirmation cards out to voters to eheek for correct addresses.) The plebiscite is not a vote to select any specific model of sovereignty. Rather, it is a poll of Hawaiians on whether the majority believe a process to create a sovereign Hawaiian government should begin. Determination on a model of sovereignty would be the subject of a later convention conducted by Hawaiian delegates elected by Hawaiians. The Hawaiian Sovereignty Elections Council was created by the 1993 state Legislature following the 100-year anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and calls for sovereignty heard around that time. It was a response to bills emerging from the Hawaiian community that, among other things, proposed a Hawaiian constitutional convention. First formed as an advisory eouneil to the Legislature on the process of holding a plebiscite (and if successful, followed by an election of delegates, constitutional eonvention and ratification election), the HSEC became a body empowered to carry out the plebiscite eleehon. The state Legislature appropriated $900,000 in the 1994-1995 fiscal year. The continued on page 4

HSEC postpones plebiscite: will continue education

from page 1 eouneil has only spent about $350,000 of this amount, due to the funding freeze, mostly on salaries and interstate travel for public meetings. This spring the Legislature passed a bill to extend the council's unexpended FY 1995 balance, about $550,000 into FY 1996 (July 1, 1995 to June 30, 1996). However, because the state's budget bill was submitted to the governor after, instead of before

other money bills, a special session of the Legislature had to be called to correct the procedural error. The HSEC bill passed onee more, and at Ka Wai Ola O OHA press time it was awaiting the governor's signature. The Legislature has supported the HSEC, as did former Gov. John Waihe'e. While key legislators reportedly have said this session they did not expect the governor to veto HB 1909, HSEC members remained uncertain about whether the funding would be released.

HSEC executive director Lulani McKenzie said that after having complied with budget projection information requested by the governor during the session, and being assured that passage by the Legislature of extended funding would lead to release of the funds, they have now been told by the Govemor that he agrees with the Ka Lāhui Hawai'i position that the state should not be funding the plebiscite, and that Hawaiian groups should pay for it instead. Ka Lāhui, whieh refused a seat on the HSEC when it was first

formed, has been one of the most consistent opponents of the plebiscite, criticizing it as a statecontrolled process. HSEC member Pōkā Laenui noted that "All of us appreciate the fiscal condition of Hawai'i and are concerned over cuts in services," but he called the argument that the state should not be funding the plebisicte process "nonsense."

He said, "The United Nations has already said metropolitan countries are under a sacred trust to assist in the decolonization process" of indigenous peoples who were colonized against their will. "We share the governor's eoneem, ... but we should be accorded a sense of respect, and due response," he said.