STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3227

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 15

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 15 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT VERY LOW INCOME NATIVE HAWAIIAN BENEFICIARIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands implement programs that would support very low income beneficiaries and establish various prospective plans that could be used.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Aha Moku, Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, M.A.H.A. Homestead Association, and four individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Kūpuna for the Mo‘opuna.

Your Committee finds that the waitlist for residential and farming homesteads reached 28,500 native Hawaiian adults in 2019 and remains around 28,000 adults today, despite pledges of money and programs to rectify the situation. Furthermore, Hawaii has one of the worst homeless rates in the country, with some of the highest average mortgage rates. Considering that the public land trust is for the benefit of the native Hawaiian people, this measure requests the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to implement programs to support these very low income native Hawaiian beneficiaries.

Your Committee notes that some counties currently allow living in temporary structures with wheels on vacant lands.

Your Committee has amended this measure by clarifying the potential solutions requested to be considered by the Department of Hawaiian Homelands to be:

(1) Awarding vacant land leases which could be used to live in county approved temporary structures with an accompanying Department of Health approved wastewater treatment system;

(2) Duplicating the Puuhonua O Waianae model on every island possibly through awarding general leases to homestead groups; and

(3) Requesting the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to provide rental assistance, mortgage assistance, and down payment assistance subject to eligibility criterion and sufficient funds.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 15, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 15, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs,

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MAILE S.L. SHIMABUKURO, Chair