The Molokai Times
Monday, March 24, 2008
By Kate Gardiner
Dispute celebrates 30th anniversary of OHA without conclusion
HONOLULU-- A bill that would have settled the long-standing ceded (Hawaiian monarchy) lands dispute failed in committee March 17.
Sen. Clayton Hee (D-23rd) said the decision to kill a bill that would have settled the ceded lands dispute for $15mil per year, or about $200 million, was a wise one.
On the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Hee, who is one of two members of the state senate with Hawaiian ancestry, said, "There is no basis for the magic number, [$200 million.] … [The decision made to kill the bill] is about providing data to support the magic… being satisfied with the magic formula is patronizing. The lid needs to be lifted [from] confidentiality."
Sen. Fred Hemmings (R-25th), argued that there was "wisdom in settling such a long-standing dispute… the magic [of settling the battle] benefits Hawaiians and the people."
Sen. J. Kalani English (D-Molokai), the other native Hawaiian in the state senate, said "Fifteen million is not too much money." He stated that when he was on Molokai recently, someone asked him why OHA should get the money, and not the Hawaiian people directly, and why the money should be paid in dollars.
"A static number doesn't mean buying power," he said. "The people in my district are not happy. They want closure and transparency…Yes, we've waited too long for the decision, but to get a better deal for my people, a year is worth it."
According to the Star-Bulletin, attorney general Mark Bennett said he was disappointed because the debt has been owed for 30 years and the state had negotiated with OHA for four years. "The senators have chosen to reject it. I hope the bill can be revived, but if it isn't, the responsibility for this issue is where it started under the state Constitution—with the Legislature, and I hope the Legislature will resolve it."
The deal on the table would have exchanged $187 million in state-owned land and $13 million in cash to irrevocably settle the dispute. There would also be a second set of revenues, an annual cash settlement of $15 million, which would eliminate the 20 percent rule originally agreed upon in 1978 and instead guarantee OHA the fixed sum.
If the state did not pay, OHA could sue. OHA also retained the right to ask the state for larger payment in the future if revenues from the land trust increase. According to a Ward Research survey of 500 people, 100 of who were native Hawaiian, 51 percent of Hawaiians felt that $15 million is too little.
What is the ceded lands bill?
When the Hawaiian monarchy was annexed by the United States in 1898, the national debt of Hawaii was $200,000. In exchange for covering that debt, the State was granted the monarchy's public lands, or ceded lands, totaling about 1.2 million acres.
In 1978, when the office of Hawaiian Affairs was created by the Legislature, it was promised 20 percent of revenues from the public land trust. That promise was made into law in 1980.
The state paid some monies to OHA from that start date but the payment fizzled out because the amount was disputed. In 1993, Congress apologized for U.S. participation in the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and acknowledged that the land was taken without consent or compensation to native Hawaiian people.
As no inventory of the ceded lands exists at this point, there is virtually no way to tell how much money the state owes to OHA, which is the root of the current dispute.
According to a survey done at the request of OHA by Ward Research, 62 percent of 100 Hawaiians surveyed felt that the cash-and-land value of $200 million is too little for what is owed OHA to cover the years since it was established in 1978. The survey was sent to 500 people, 100 of who claimed Hawaiian ancestry. Four percent of those people thought the settlement was too much.
Original article URL: http://www.molokaitimes.com/articles/8324163247.asp