Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 1997 — Updates on OMB Directive 15, state pro curement code [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Updates on OMB Directive 15, state pro curement code

Ke aloha nui e nā 'ōiwi o Hawai'i. In this, my ninth trustee article in a series of 46, we cover the OMB Directive 15 and assert the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' independence from the state's executive branch, and the logical conclusion thāt recent procurement code amendments were improperly processed. OMB Directive Update As of Oct. 8, no final decision

had been made regarding OMB Directive 15 recommendations. As reported in my September and October articles, written

responses transmitted to OMB from members of the Hawai'i working group on Directive 15 were statistically sound and refuted specific propositions by the Interagency Committee for the Review of the Racial and Ethnic Standards to the Office of Management and Budget Statistical, published July 9 in the Federal Register. The arrival of 20,000 post cards gave voice to our concems 1) to oppose continued classification of Hawaiians in the "Asian or Pacific Islander" category; 2) to support changing the term "Hawaiian" to "Native Hawaiian" and 3) to support changing "Ameiiean Indian or Alaskan Native" to "Ameiiean

Indian, Alaskan Native, or Native Hawaiian." United in their support for the changes we are advocating, members of Hawai'i's congressional delegation met with federal officials on Oct. 3. OHA ■ Entity of Native Hawaiian Governance Separate and Apart From the State Administration General provisions of Chapter 10, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) codify the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, including govemanee by a board of trustees who shall have broad authority and responsibility over the management and performance df

OHA on behalf of its Hawaiian and native Hawaiian beneficiaries. Further, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is "constituted as a body corporate whieh shall be a separate entity independent of the executive branch." The stmcture of state government is described in §26-4, HRS, listing 18 entities, including executive and administrative offices, departments and instrumentalities under the supervision of the governor. It does not mention OHA. While one section of the law says OHA is separate and independent and not considered a part of the executive branch, OHA's independence is being Continued on page 15

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Apoiiona from page 14 whittled away, little by little, through amendments and additions to other sections of the law. Recent additions to Hawai'i's population, and newer generations of officialdom, may not have the background in, or even be concemed about. the history of injustices toward Hawai'i's native people and the authority vested in OHA. A case in point in the last legislative session was the passage of Act 352 amending the state procurement code as part of the administraīion's legislative package. The amendment deleted the board of trustees and inserted the chairperson of the board as OHA's chief procurement officer without the courtesy of prior notification to the board of trustees. Months later, the board was surprised, therefore, at the announcement at a board meeting, that, although eaeh individual tmstee has equal fiduciary responsibility, procurement authority would be vested in one trustee. Normally, when legislation moves to the govemor's office for signature, affected parties are notified and asked to eomment. However. because this was the administration's bill, and because OHA is considered a "state" entity, no notice was given and. therefore, no eomment offered. It is this perception of OHA as just another state department that must be clarified and changed.

This is just one recent example of how the state attempts to seize OHA's authority and often succeeds. There are far too many other situations where this has happened and we need to turn things around. The state, and even legislators, must leam to consult with us as equal partners. Just ask us. We will give you our opinion. This is an issue that we will be discussing again. ■ Editors note: Please refer to the newshrief on page 18 for news qfthe recent OMB decision. . : . -: ■ ■■: „.,7 v,.: --