Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 3, 1 March 2006 — High court to reconsider ceded lands ruling [ARTICLE]

High court to reconsider ceded lands ruling

In a surprising move, the state Supreme Court has decided to reconsider its dismissal last September of OHA's lawsuit seeking the payment of as mueh as $300 million the agency believes it is owed in ceded lands revenue from Honolulu International Airport activities. OHA's share of ceded lands revenue derived from the airport has long been a matter of controversy, and over the years the agency has tried repeatedly to resolve the issue in court. In its September ruling, the Supreme Court affinned a lower court's dismissal of a suit that OHA filed against the state to recover the funds. OHA said in the suit that the state should have done more to prevent the passage of a 1997 federal law that banned payments of airport revenue to the agency. The Supreme Court ean now either reaffirm its dismissal of the lawsuit, dismiss it again but for different reasons or reinstate the case. The court hasn't indicated when it will issue a decision. The ruling to reconsider the case is separate from the temporary agreement struck between the governor and OHA that would establish the agency's portion of public land trust revenue at $15.1 million annually, with an additional $17.5 million for undisputed back payments. The agreement was adopted into legislation, whieh state lawmakers are currently considering (see story on page 10). By law, OHA is supposed to receive a portion of the state's ineome from lands that were "ceded" to the U.S. after annexation and later passed to the state govermnent. OHA is mandated to use that money to benefit Hawaiians. But the exact amount due to OHA has long been disputed. S