OHA on board?
Not yet, panel says

The land board seat must wait
until sovereignty is resolved,
a House committee decides

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

Legislative support to give the Office of Hawaiian Affairs a seat on the state Land Use Commission and the Board of Land and Natural Resources must wait until Hawaiians resolve the issue of sovereignty.

That was the message the House Hawaiian Affairs Committee sent when it held two bills yesterday that would have given the agency membership on the two important boards.

Chairman Ed Case (D, Manoa) said heated opposition to his proposed Native Hawaiian Autonomy Act last month was a "painfully clear" message that Hawaiians want to settle their self-determination issues within their community without interference from others.

And until the state and native Hawaiians have established a clear relationship, Case said, other issues before the Legislature that affect Hawaiians are premature.

"It is very difficult to make decisions on individual issues without a clear understanding of the big picture," Case said.

House Bill 2916 would have required one of the nine members of the Land Use Commission be a representative of OHA.

Although the commission itself took no position on the proposal, the state Office of Planning opposed the move.

Planning Director Rick Egged, in written testimony, said OHA represents the special interests of native Hawaiians who are direct beneficiaries of ceded-land revenues, while the commission must address broader issues.

He opposed the measure because the commission may act on petitions involving ceded lands.

Deputy Attorney General Charlene Aina told lawmakers that allowing OHA a seat on the commission could set a precedent for other special interests to demand representation.

The commission is already required to work with other state agencies, including OHA, she said.

OHA Trustee Colette Machado, however, said membership on the board is an important step to protect traditional, customary and religious practices of native Hawaiians.

She added state agricultural and conservation districts -- which comprise more than 80 percent of the state's land use area -- are lands that most affect the lives of the islands' native people.

"Native Hawaiians have throughout history maintained an integral relationship with the land and relied on its power of providing our people with physical sustenance, spiritual strength and political empowerment," said Machado, who argued the state should show sensitivity in the matter.

Other supporters of House Bill 2916 and 2914, such as Ahupua'a Action Alliance, stated that until the Hawaiian nation is restored, OHA has a vested interest in the decisions of both boards and should be represented on them.