Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 6, 1 June 2006 — 2006 Legislative wrap-up [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

2006 Legislative wrap-up

Rūwena Akana TrustEE, At-lsrgE

4 A no ai kāk°u. I had high hopes / \ of a productive legislative sesĀ. A.sion back in Ianuary, but my hopes were dashed by mid-session, when several bills that were dear to me died in committee. Here is a brief run-down of three bills I strongly supported: Interim revenue. Senate Bill 2948 establishes the amount of interim revenue to be transferred to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs from the puhlie land trust eaeh fiseal year beginning with fiscal year 20052006, at $15.1 million. The hill also appropriates $17.5 million as the amount of revenues owed to OHA for the underpayment of OHA's pro rata share of the puhlie land trust revenues between Iuly 1, 2001, and lune 30, 2005. As of this writing, the hill is awaiting signature from the governor to be enacted into law. OHA retirement nill. SB916 would have allowed trustees with at least five years of service with the Employees' Retirement System (ERS) to buy back credit for their prior service. SB916 was just a housekeeping measure that would correct an oversight in a previous hill passed in 2002. Unfortunately, for the past three years, the ERS board, through its administrator, has lobbied the House not to pass the hill. For this reason, the House Hawaiian Affairs Conunittee Chair, Rep. Scott Saiki, refused to even give the hill a hearing. Property tax exemption for kuleana lands. SB914 would have exempted kuleana lands from real property taxes if the original titleholder had continuously occupied the land. Commercial developments have led to sharp increases in taxes on real property, including kuleana land, throughout the state. These increases have adversely affected many Hawaiian families who live on kuleana lands because they are unahle to pay for the taxes. Hawaiian families living on kuleana land now face the loss of their land and legacy that took generations to establish and must confront the possibility of homelessness. SB914 got a hearing on the Senate side, thanks to the Iudiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee Chair, Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, but the hill eame up one vote

short of passing. I tried to convince Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, who voted "no," to change her mind and support the hill. Unfortunately, she refused to budge from her position that we should first get eaeh county to agree to it. I am currently working to get a city ordinance passed at the Honolulu City Council. Bill 25 was introduced on March 15, 2006, and was passed unanimously by the Council's Budget Committee on April 26, 2006. It is scheduled to be heard and voted on by the full Council on May 17. Ceded land revenues. HB459 would have clarified the lands comprising and the revenue derived from the puhlie land trust under the state constitution and what is owed to OHA. As in past sessions, this hill went nowhere. Ever since 2001, when Act 304 was repealed, OHA has tried unsuccessfully to pass legislation that would reestablish the continued funding of OHA from ceded land revenues. We almost got the hill passed in 2003. It was passed unamended in the Senate but died in the House Finance Committee after the eommittee changed the hill to leave out money from improvements to the land. As the campaign season heats this fall, I ask that you question the candidates in your district about their positions on important Hawaiian issues. It's time to take a stand against politicians who patronize Hawaiian issues with meaningless words and no positive action. Politicians like Rep. Scott Saiki, who are influenced by lobbyists instead of his constituents, don't deserve to be re-elected. In the last election, Rep. Saiki won by only 5,006 votes, while OHA trustees typically win with over 100,000 votes from all voters (not just Hawaiians) statewide. It should be obvious who really represents the people. Let's remind all elected officials that our issues are important and should never be pushed aside and ignored. Native Hawaiians make up 20 percent of the population and in the last several elections have had a high voter turnout rate of 75 percent, despite the fact that Hawai'i has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country. This should be a wake-up eall for all elected officials that Hawaiians are aware of their polkieal power at the ballot box. I mua e Hawai'i nei... For more information on important Hawaiian issues, eheek out my website at www.rowenaakana.org. ^