Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 1, 1 January 2012 — OHA Legislative Package [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA Legislative Package

0HA's 10 measures will address issues from asset limits for public benefit programs to Hawaiian language assessments and redress for the wrongly imprisoned

By Sterling Wong While Gov. Neil Abercrombie's $200 million past-due revenue settlement offer will take center stage during the 20 12 Legislative Session, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is also proposing measures for our 2012 Legislative Package to address a number of other issues facing the Native Hawaiian community. Below is a description of measures in our 2012 Legislative Package. Public Land Development Corp. Act 55 established the Puhlie Land Development Corp. to administer an appropriate and culturally sensitive puhlie land development

program. However, the Act is unclear about how certain interests of OHA and our Native Hawaiian beneficiaries will be protected. Our bill wouldrequire the corporation to: (1) examine the impacts its projects will have on Native Hawaiian rights; (2) receive legislative approval to sell, gift or exchange its lands; and (3) provide to OHA a portion of any revenues the corporation generates on the Puhlie Land Trust. Federal Earned Ineome Tax Credit (EITC) Outreach Initiative The federal EITC is a way for families in certain ineome tax categories to reduce federal tax on their ineome, sometimes to helow zero. About 105,000 low-ineome families in Hawai'i elaim the federal EITC, but 19,000 more families might be able to elaim the credit if they knew

about it. Our proposed bill would establish an initiative to maximize the number of eligible families that receive the federal EITC. Puhlie Benefit Program Asset Limil Asset limitations for puhlie benefit programs, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, and food stamps, encourage low-ineome families to get rid of assets instead of accumulating them, whieh makes it difficult for those families to escape poverty and heeome self-sufficient. Our proposed bill would increase the asset limit qualification for certain puhlie assistance programs from $5,000 to $15,000 to allow families to accumulate assets and improve their hnaneial conditions. Financial Literacy Course Without a knowledge and understanding of hnaneial and eeonomie matters, many individuals, particularly our youth, have difficulty managing their personal finances and making sound decisions regarding saving, investing and loans. Our proposed resolution requests that puhlie high schools include a one-semester hnaneial literacy course. Act 178 Compliance Act 178 requires state agencies to provide a full accounting of all revenues they generate from the Puhlie Land Trust. Currently, the agencies are not providing full reports. Our proposed resolution requests the state's full eomplianee with the Puhlie Land Trust revenue reporting requirements of Act 178, Session Laws of Hawai'i 2006. Hawaiian Language Assessments The Hawaiian language community has voiced strong concerns about the translated Hawai'i State Assessment used for Hawaiian language immersion students because of the numerous problems relating to translated tests, including cultural and translation bias, translation inaccuracies and terminology inconsistencies. Our proposed bill requires assessments for third- and fourth-grade students in the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program to be developed originally in the Hawaiian language. innoeenee Redress Under current law, innocent people who are wrongfully imprisoned must sue in order to receive compensation for the wrongful deprivation of their freedom. Our proposed bill establishes a way for wrongfully convicted individuals to receive monetary compensation as

GOVERNANGE To restore pono and ea, Native Hawaiians will achieve self-gover-nanee, after whieh the assets of OHAwillhe transferred to the new governing entity.

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OHA will submit a Legislative Package of 1 0 measures to be considered by state lawmakers, who will convene for the 201 2 session on Jan. 1 8. - Photo: Pmneine Murray

well as immediate services upon their release from prison. 'Ōlelo Hawai'i Month While February has long been considered Hawaiian Language Month, this designation has never been made official by a statute. Our proposed bill designates February as 'Ōlelo Hawai'i Month to celebrate and encourage the use of Hawaiian language. Data Disaggregation Not all state agencies currently separate their data about Native Hawaiians from their data about other ethnic groups, whieh prevents the state, OHA and the general puhlie from fully understanding the depth of Native Hawaiian heahh, socioeconomic, housing, employment and other issues. Our proposed bill requires state agencies, boards and commissions to separate data according to Census Bureau collection categories, including one specifically for Native Hawaiians. This proposed bill goes further than the minimum requirements under OMB Directive No. 15, the federal guideline governing racial and ethnic data collection. Cemeteries The disinterment of human burials for purposes of removing the dedication of a cemetery is not currently governed by a firm set of rules. Our proposed bill requires the Department of Health to adopt rules for disinterring human remains for the purposes of decertifying a cemetery. For more information or to share your mana'o on our 2012 Legislative Package, please email publicpolicy@oha. org or eall (808) 594-1756. ■ Sterling Wong is a Senior Puhlie Policy Aclvocate at OHA.

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An 0HA bill would require state agencies, boards and commissions to separate ethnic data according to Census Bureau eolleehon categories, including one for Native Hawaiians, as seen in the 201 0 Census form, above. - Photo: LisaAsato