The unanimous passage Thursday of a bill that would appropriate $600 million to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands by a House-Senate conference committee was met with applause and fanfare.
But one prominent member of the Hawaiian homesteading community, Keaukaha Community Association President Patrick Kahawaiolaa, expressed concerns about the management of the money, which is to be spent over a three-year period.
“I’m truly concerned about who’s going to manage it,” Kahawaiolaa said Friday. “You’re going to give it to an entity that has an atrocious record of putting people on the land. I don’t know about the oversight. Maybe the (U.S. Department of the Interior) should have some say about how it’s spent.
“And I see they’ve got a sunset. They’ve got to do it within three years, right?”
There are about 28,700 Native Hawaiians on a waiting list for DHHL land statewide, some of whom have been there for decades. That includes, as of last month 10,651 on Hawaii Island.
The bill includes $112 million that would allow beneficiaries on the list to opt for a $100,000 payment for down-payment or mortgage assistance.
Those who accept the $100,000 would be taken off the list.
“To get off the list? You’re trying to put people on the land,” Kahawaiolaa said, incredulously. “Why are we telling Native Hawaiians, ‘Hey, here’s X amount of dollars to get off the list?’”
DHHL spokesman Cedric Duarte said last month that such assistance “would fall within the authority allowed” through the Native Hawaiian Rehabilitation Fund.
Senate amendments to the measure include $487.6 million “for the preparation, planning and development of new lots.” The money would develop 2,910 lots on Hawaiian Homes lands statewide.
On the Big Island, that would include: $70 million for 400 new lots in La‘i ‘Opua Villages in Kailua-Kona; $40 million for 25 new water system and pasture lots in Ka‘u; and $2 million for 40 new subsistence agriculture lots in Honomu.
Lawmakers in the conference committee were unanimous in their praise of the bill.
“This is the most significant action for the Native Hawaiian community for 100 years,” said Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole of Oahu.
Rep. Sylvia Luke, the House Finance Committee chair and House co-chair of the conference committee, called Thursday’s vote “an unprecedented moment.”
“Every year, we say that if we have enough money, we would do significant things to improve the lives of our citizens,” said Luke, a candidate for lieutenant governor. “This year, because of our unexpected financial situation, we are making an unprecedented investment to provide homes for Native Hawaiians, even beyond DHHL lands,” Luke said.
The other House conference committee co-chair, Rep. Mark Nakashima, a Hamakua Democrat who chairs the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs committee, told the Tribune-Herald it was “great that a lot of diverse minds could come together this year and move the bill forward.”
“The state has somewhat of a windfall of cash this year, so instead of squandering it for other purposes, we can finally give some real attention to the Native Hawaiian population,” Nakashima said.
Rep. Stacelynn Eli, a Leeward Oahu Democrat whose district includes a large number of Native Hawaiians, called it “a historic moment.”
“This is something that Native Hawaiians have been waiting for for a long time,” she said. “We’re excited to see what the department can do for those who been on the wait list and have been waiting for a very long time … to provide homes for their families.”
The legislation now faces final floor votes in both chambers of the Legislature before it’s forwarded to Gov. David Ige.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
