STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3377
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: H.B. No. 2309
H.D. 1
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2026
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2309, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN HOMES COMMISSION ACT, 1920,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, as amended, to include siblings' children as qualifying relatives of lessees for the purposes of lease transfer and lease successorship, in the same manner currently allowed for spouses, children, grandchildren, and siblings.
Your Committee finds that under existing
law, only certain relatives may qualify for lease successorship or transfer of
Hawaiian Home Lands leases. Allowing
nieces and nephews to succeed to leases reduces lease cancellations due to
technical heir limitations, preserves improvements built over generations, and
advances the rehabilitative purposes of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of
1920, as amended, which was passed to restore native Hawaiians to the land and
promote self-sufficiency. Ensuring
generational continuity of homestead leases is central to that purpose. This measure would expand eligible
successorship to reflect the lived reality of Hawaiian ohana structures, where
extended family members often serve as caregivers and household anchors, and
uphold the purpose of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, as amended.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2309, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs,
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________________________________ HERBERT M. RICHARDS, III, Chair |
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