THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            57
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING AN AUDIT OF VARIOUS EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS REGARDING
    CEDED LAND REVENUES.
 


 1        WHEREAS, by many measures, the descendents of the
 2   inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778, have not
 3   prospered in their native land; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, there are many explanations for this condition,
 6   but the central theme includes the loss of control over land
 7   and other assets; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani and the
10   sovereign Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 was orchestrated by members
11   of the annexation club who controlled the economy and much of
12   the private property in Hawaii; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, the annexation of the Hawaiian islands in 1898
15   conveyed absolute title of Hawaii's crown and government lands
16   to the United States; and
17   
18        WHEREAS, the Joint Resolution of Annexation provided "that
19   all revenue from or proceeds of the public lands ... shall be
20   used for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Hawaiian islands
21   for educational and other public purposes; and
22   
23        WHEREAS, the Organic Act of 1900 established Hawaii as a
24   territory of the United States and provided that the proceeds
25   from the ceded lands be deposited in the treasury of the
26   territory for such uses as are consistent with the Joint
27   Resolution of Annexation; and
28   
29        WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, placed
30   almost 200,000 acres of ceded land under the jurisdiction of
31   the Hawaiian Homes Commission for lease to native Hawaiians at
32   a nominal fee; and
33   
34        WHEREAS, statehood occurred when Congress passed the
35   Admission Act and ratified our State Constitution in 1959; and

 
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 1   
 2        WHEREAS, the Admissions Act recognized the special status
 3   of Hawaii's public lands and reflected the intent to return
 4   these lands to the newly created State of Hawaii; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, about 1.4 million acres of land were returned
 7   with the proviso that the lands granted to the State of Hawaii,
 8   together with the proceeds from the sale or other disposition
 9   of any such lands and income therefrom, shall be held by the
10   State as a public trust for the support of five purposes, one
11   of which is the betterment of the conditions of native
12   Hawaiians; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, after failing for nineteen years to fulfill its
15   fiduciary responsibility to the public land trust, the 1978
16   Constitutional Convention created the Office of Hawaiian
17   Affairs to hold title in trust to all real and personal
18   property set aside or conveyed to it for native Hawaiians; and
19   
20        WHEREAS, the legislature in 1979 enacted chapter 10,
21   Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), creating the Office of Hawaiian
22   Affairs (OHA); and
23   
24        WHEREAS, Act 273, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 1980,
25   amended chapter 10, HRS, to add a new section (section 10-13.5,
26   HRS), to require that twenty per cent of all revenue from the
27   public land trust (ceded lands) be expended by OHA for the
28   betterment of conditions of native Hawaiians; and
29   
30        WHEREAS, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in 1987 in
31   Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs vs. Yamasaki, 69
32   Haw. 154, that a legislative remedy was needed to clarify
33   issues regarding ceded land revenues; and
34   
35        WHEREAS, Act 304, SLH 1990, added definitions for "public
36   land trust" and "revenues" to chapter 10, HRS, constituting a
37   formal recognition of a right of native Hawaiians to ceded
38   lands proceeds that resolves some of the claims of native
39   Hawaiians against the State for lands taken from the Kingdom of
40   Hawaii without its consent and without compensation; and
41   
42        WHEREAS, Act 304, SLH 1990, made legislative findings in

 
 
 
 
 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            57
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   section 1 the special trust relationship imposed upon ceded
 2   lands; and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, Act 35, SLH 1993, authorized the issuance of
 5   $136.5 million in general obligation bonds to satisfy the
 6   State's obligation to native Hawaiians for the use of ceded
 7   lands between 1981 and 1990; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, circuit court judge Daniel Heeley ruled that OHA
10   claims for additional revenues under Act 304, SLH 1990, were
11   legitimate and valid; and
12   
13        WHEREAS, Act 329, SLH 1997, is the most recent evidence of
14   the State's systematic efforts to deny the rightful
15   entitlements of the Hawaiian people by capping payments at
16   $15.1 million for each of the two year fiscal period; and
17   
18        WHEREAS, Act 329, SLH 1997, established a joint committee
19   to study and make recommendations on all outstanding and
20   anticipated issues identified by the joint committee as
21   currently or potentially relating to the public land trust; and
22   
23        WHEREAS, OHA has been conducting a Beneficiary Outreach
24   Program since the beginning of 1999; and
25   
26        WHEREAS, beneficiaries at community meetings throughout
27   the State have voiced concerns about ceded lands and the twenty
28   per cent entitlement to OHA; and
29   
30        WHEREAS, the methodologies used by the various state
31   departments in verifying the amounts of revenue from ceded
32   lands under their respective jurisdictions should be reliable
33   and consistent with generally accepted accounting principles;
34   and
35   
36        WHEREAS, it is important and essential that the State does
37   not unilaterally alter or modify its legal obligations and
38   fiduciary responsibilities to OHA and to native Hawaiians; now,
39   therefore,
40   
41        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
42   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1999, the House of

 
 
 
 
 
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 1   Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is requested to an
 2   audit of the Departments of Accounting and General Services;
 3   Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Education; Health;
 4   Land and Natural Resources; Transportation (Airports and
 5   Harbors Divisions); and the University of Hawaii regarding
 6   their methodologies in verifying the amounts of ceded land
 7   revenues, with particular emphasis on the reliability and
 8   consistency of such methodologies with generally accepted
 9   accounting principles; and
10   
11        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor report findings
12   and recommendations to the legislature no later than twenty
13   days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2000; and
14   
15        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
16   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor,
17   Comptroller, Director of Business, Economic Development, and
18   Tourism, Superintendent of Education, Director of Health,
19   Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources,
20   Director of Transportation, President of the University of
21   Hawaii, Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs,
22   the joint committee established under Act 329 (c/o OHA), and
23   the Auditor.
24 
25 
26 
27                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________