Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 7, 1 July 2020 — Available Resources [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Available Resources

LEO ELELE v TRUSTEE MESSSAGES f

The vast majority of us here in Hawai'i have heen sheltering in plaee for the last four months. Some of you have been fortunate enough to have navigated our antiquated state unemployment system and receive assistance in these trying times. Some of you have also been able to access support from the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement's Kahiau emergency funding that is provided by yourOffice ofHawaiian Affairs

However, many still need help and have yet to receive any assistance from the state government. The state eonstitution says that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is to be funded by a pro-rata share of the revenues generated on ceded lands as provided by law. In 1980 the state legislature passed a law that stipulated that pro-rata amount was 20%. Subsequently, the

state legislature decided that only Slb.i million of that 20% would be paid to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The remainder has been deposited into an overflow aeeounī with the Department of Accounting and General Services and is sitting in limbo, something that Senator Kai Kahele pointed out during the 2019 session. Since April, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has been working to try and have these funds released for the explicit purpose of COVID-19 direct relief to Native Hawaiians. At the time, because the legislature was in recess, a request was made to Governor David Ige to release the funds through an emergency proclamation. There was no response. Since the legislature has begun limited meetings to address the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been no word from either Senator Donovan Dela

Cruz or Representative Sylvia Luke about releasing these funds to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for COVID-19 relief. While addressing the immediate threats of COVID-19 and dealing with how to restart the economy while protecting the health and wellbeing of the public is of the utmost importance for state legislators, there is low-lying fruit out there. The funds are there, cannot be used by any other agency or branch of sjnvernment, and cannot be

redistributed to ! the entities that ■ paid the reve- : nues to the state. i The Office of Hawaiian I Affairs has put in writing that it will only use the : funds for either ; emergency C O V I D - 1 9 relief or long-term low-to-no-interest (possibly forgivable) loans for longer-term support for CO VID- 1 9 relief. The Office ofHawaiian Affairs has

even gone so tar as to give assurances that the funds would be distributed by an outside nonprofit, Hawai'i Community Foundation, who is already providing these types of services through the Hawai'i Resiliency Fund. While the state legislature is looking for funds to make up for the loss in tax revenue due to the eeonomie shut down of the state, these are funds that cannot legally be used for that purpose as they are specifically designated for the betterment of Native Hawaiians. As we all look to the future and try to return to some semblance of normality, join me and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as we continue to try and get our legislators to help us help you. Please continue to stay safe, stay healthy and together we ean rebound for a better Hawai'i for us all. ■

Brendon Kaleiaina Lee VicE Chair, TrustEB, At-lsrgE