HILO — Native Hawaiians could soon be able to use DNA to prove eligibility for homesteads, under new administrative rules being proposed by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
Other proposed rules would set a process for transferring vacant land, encourage a subsistence lifestyle on rural property and streamline the application process.
The rule changes came after DHHL officials made the rounds of community meetings, and they now face public hearings before being implemented.
Hearings are scheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 5 at the district office in Keaukaha and 6 p.m. Dec. 6 at the district office in Waimea. Hearings will also be held Dec. 5 on Oahu and Maui, and Dec. 6 on Kauai and Molokai.
As of Sept. 30, there are approximately 10,000 Hawaiian homestead lessees statewide, including 1,255 on Hawaiian Home Lands in West Hawaii.
From Oct. 27, 2015, to Dec. 10, 2015, the DHHL conducted statewide beneficiary consultation meetings to discuss with and get feedback from beneficiaries about the proposed rule amendments. In all, 10 consultation meetings were held and more than 700 beneficiaries attended, a DHHL report states.
The format used at the consultation meetings was designed to solicit beneficiary input through facilitated conversation focusing on how the proposed amendments could be made better. That involved dividing the participants into three groups — one for each of the major amendments — and soliciting pros and cons of each proposal, said Louis Hao, acting district supervisor of the East Hawaii DHHL office.
Some 81 people attended the Nov. 10, 2015, meeting in Keaukaha, according to the DHHL report.
“It was good,” Hao said Monday. “The community had a chance to participate that way.”
Hao characterized the reaction as “mixed,” and said he’s looking forward to hearing more input at the public hearing.
The genetic testing component, the most striking rule change, would allow DHHL to accept DNA tests to establish family ties in order to qualify for the Hawaiian Home Lands program. The DNA tests would be voluntary as another way of establishing bloodlines, and not mandatory.
The DNA rule follows settlement of a 2012 lawsuit, where Honolulu resident Leighton Pang Kee sued to allow genetic testing to prove his blood quantum. He was represented by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp.
“We advocate for native Hawaiians who would otherwise not have a voice in the legal process and we are pleased the DHHL is moving in this direction with their proposed amendments. Our hope is that the proposed amendments will make it easier for Native Hawaiians to benefit from the Act as Prince Kuhio intended. Now, is the opportunity for the community to provide their feedback,” Sharla Manley, litigation director for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., said in a statement Monday.
Those with at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood quantum can apply for a 99-year lease for $1 a year. Passed by the U.S. Congress in 1921, the program is meant to provide economic self-sufficiency to Hawaiians by allowing them to use land to live on.
The lease transfer provisions would create a process and requirements for transferring a vacant homestead lot.
The subsistence lots component proposes a new option in DHHL’s agricultural program that supports a subsistence rural lifestyle. This means the lessee has to live on and actively grow crops or small livestock on the lots.
The 44-page proposed rule: https://dhhl.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Proposed-Rules-for-Public-Hearing_Ramseyer-Format.pdf
