Lingle signs bill to restore
land payments to OHAGov. Linda Lingle signed into law yesterday a $9.5 million emergency appropriations bill that fulfills a campaign promise to pay the Office of Hawaiian Affairs undisputed revenue generated from state public lands.
Calling it "a sacred trust," Lingle said at a bill-signing ceremony that restoring this portion of public or ceded-land revenue to OHA was the right thing to do, and it honors the state's indigenous people, their language and culture.
"By passing this today to honor our trust to the Hawaiian people, we are also serving every non-Hawaiian in the state," Lingle said, "because, after all, the Hawaiian people and their culture are what makes Hawaii Hawaii," the governor said.
OHA Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona noted the funding was made possible through cooperation between the executive and legislative branches of government.
"It was glorious to see, and heartwarming to see, the vote of the full Senate and the full House unanimous on this bill," Apoliona said.
"It's been a long time coming for correcting the wrong that was done. And certainly, there are issues ahead of us that will require equal commitment, collaboration, compassion, belief in justice and fairness."
The $9,515,585 in the bill -- paid from a dozen different state funds that receive ceded-lands revenue -- completes a $12.3 million payment to OHA for undisputed revenue that has been withheld since September 2001.
This past February, the Lingle administration issued OHA six checks worth $2.8 million, and the governor pledged that the Legislature would come through with approval of the difference.
Also that month, Lingle issued an executive order instructing all affected state departments to resume quarterly payments of 20 percent of ceded-land revenue to OHA.
A Hawaii Supreme Court ruling in September 2001 stopped all payments from revenue from ceded lands (the former lands ceded to the Republic of Hawaii after the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy) to OHA, and forced its board of trustees to use more of its Native Hawaiian Trust Fund, valued at around $266 million in February, for operational and program costs.
The Hawaii justices, in deciding an appeal of a 1996 Circuit Court case that gave OHA additional sources of ceded-land revenue after its negotiations with the state failed, voided the state law that defined these payments and suggested legislation be created for a new ceded-lands formula.
Lingle recalled that a majority of voters created OHA 25 years ago to help Hawaiians, and she pledged to continue to work for native Hawaiian federal recognition and for the new state law.
A bill pending in the Legislature would create an advisory task force to study the issue and report to the 2004 Legislature.
"Many people are counting on us to remain focused, persistent and steadfast in our joint quest for 'simple justice,' and they can believe that we will remain steadfast in our efforts," Lingle said.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs