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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THAT THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, UPON
   THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HAWAIIAN HOMES COMMISSION AS AN
   ELECTED BODY, AFFIRM IN WRITING THAT THE HAWAIIAN HOMES
   COMMISSION IS A GOVERNING BODY DULY RECOGNIZED BY THE
   SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR AS A NATIVE GROUP. 


 1       WHEREAS, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held, in Price
 2   v. State of Hawaii, 764 F.2d 623 (1985), that a claim for
 3   reparations by Hawaiians cannot be pursued in federal court
 4   unless the entity pursuing the claims is a governing body duly
 5   recognized by the Secretary of the Interior as a native group;
 6   and
 7   
 8       WHEREAS, Hawaiians have thus been, and continue to be,
 9   denied the right to pursue their just claims for reparations in
10   the federal courts; and
11   
12       WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Homes Commission statute, enacted in
13   1920 by the United States Congress, provides specifically for
14   the setting aside of a portion of the ceded land trust for
15   homesteading by native Hawaiians; and 
16   
17       WHEREAS, the United States Secretary of the Interior must
18   approve any land exchanges involving Hawaiian home lands; and
19   
20       WHEREAS, the United States Congress still retains the power
21   to alter, amend, or repeal the provisions of the Act; and 
22   
23       WHEREAS, the United States Congress must approve any state
24   amendment to the Act which may alter the qualifications of
25   lessees or decrease the benefits to lessees; and
26   
27       WHEREAS, as a consequence of these facts, the Hawaiian
28   Homes Commission is the single body, since annexation, which
29   has historically and legally been recognized by the Untied
30   States Government and the United States Secretary of the
31   Interior as a body which represents the interests of Hawaiians
32   in their relationship with the federal government; and 
33   
34       WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Homes Commission has its own land
35   base, established by the Act; and

 
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 1       WHEREAS, legislation introduced in the state House of
 2   Representatives to change the Hawaiian Homes Commission from an
 3   appointed body to an elected body is presently before the state
 4   Legislature; and
 5   
 6       WHEREAS, if the Hawaiian Homes Commission becomes an
 7   elected body, one whose governing body is voted into office by
 8   Hawaiians, it would occupy the unique position of being not
 9   only a representative body of the Hawaiian people with its own
10   land base, but also the only governing body representing the
11   interests of Hawaiians as a native group with an official and
12   historical relationship with the Secretary of the Interior and
13   the United States Government; now, therefore,
14   
15       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
16   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
17   of 1999, that the Hawaiian Homes Commission, upon its
18   establishment as an elected body, present itself before the
19   Federal Government as the governing body for the Hawaiian
20   people and act on their behalf in all matters relating to the
21   sovereignty of Hawaiians; and 
22   
23       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Secretary of
24   the Interior is requested, upon the establishment of the
25   Hawaiian Homes Commission as an elected body, to affirm in
26   writing that the Hawaiian Homes Commission is a governing body
27   duly recognized by the Secretary of the Interior as a native
28   group; and
29   
30       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
31   Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United
32   States, the United States Secretary of the Interior, the
33   President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the
34   United States House of Representatives, members of Hawaii's
35   Congressional Delegation, the Governor, the Senate President,
36   the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chairperson
37   and members of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, Chairperson of
38   the State Council of Hawaiian Homes Association, and the
39   Director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. 
40 
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43                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________