SB3247 SD1

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the royal mausoleum, also known as Mauna ʻAla in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, is the sacred resting place of the aliʻi of the Kamehameha and Kalākaua dynasties, among other high chiefs of Hawaiʻi. This wahi pana holds deep cultural, historical, and spiritual significance for Native Hawaiians and the people of Hawaiʻi. Mauna ʻAla embodies the mana of the aliʻi and the cultural practice of mālama iwi kūpuna, expressing the enduring respect for the ancestors who shaped Hawaiʻi's history and identity.

Since its transfer to the department of land and natural resources in 1967, Mauna ʻAla has been maintained by the State. However, the legislature finds that concerns have arisen from Native Hawaiian organizations, the Aliʻi trusts, and cultural descendants about ensuring that all management decisions uphold traditional protocols, respect genealogical ties, and preserve the sanctity of the site.

The legislature believes that a permanent body dedicated exclusively to the protection and management of Mauna ʻAla will provide the necessary cultural guidance, policy continuity, and community oversight to safeguard the site for future generations.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to establish the royal mausoleum working group under the department of land and natural resources to ensure the respectful stewardship, preservation, and appropriate management of the royal mausoleum, or Mauna ʻAla, in accordance with Hawaiian cultural traditions and values.

SECTION 2. Chapter 6E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§6E- Royal mausoleum working group. (a) There is established a working group to be known as the royal mausoleum working group placed within the department for administrative purposes. The working group shall create a potential management policy independent of the department, except for budgetary, fiscal, and personnel administration purposes, regarding the royal mausoleum, also known as Mauna ʻAla.

(b) The working group shall consist of the following voting members:

(1) One member chosen from the organizations listed in paragraphs (4) through (9) and appointed by the governor to serve as chairperson of the working group;

(2) One member appointed by the president of the senate with direction from the senate standing committee with primary jurisdiction over Hawaiian affairs;

(3) One member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives with direction from the house of representatives standing committee with primary jurisdiction over Hawaiian affairs;

(4) Five representatives of the aliʻi trusts that have founders interred at Mauna ʻAla; one each from Kamehameha Schools, the Liliʻuokalani Trust, the Queen's Health Systems, the Kapiʻolani Medical Center, and the Lunalilo Trust;

(5) Four representatives of the royal societies; one each from the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, ʻAhahui Kaʻahumanu, Hale O Na Aliʻi O Hawaiʻi ʻAhahui Poʻo, and the Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors Māmakakaua;

(6) One representative from the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs;

(7) One representative from an island burial council;

(8) Three members as follows:

(A) One lineal descendant representative of those interred at Mauna ʻAla connected to the Kamehameha dynasty;

(B) One lineal descendant representative of those interred at Mauna ʻAla connected to the Kalakaua dynasty; and

(C) One member who is a lineal descendant of High Chief Hoʻolulu and a member of the Hoʻolulu Kahu family, selected pursuant to a written process established by the Hoʻolulu ʻohana lineal descendants; and

(9) One representative from the Daughters of Hawaiʻi.

(c) Members of the working group shall serve four-year terms and may be reappointed thereafter to the working group. Initial appointments shall be staggered, with half of the members serving two-year terms to ensure continuity. Members shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in the performance of their duties, subject to legislative appropriation.

(d) The working group shall:

(1) Develop and implement a comprehensive management plan for the protection, maintenance, and interpretation of Mauna ʻAla, including all crypts, vaults, chapels, structures, and the surrounding grounds;

(2) In consultation with Native Hawaiian organizations, the aliʻi trusts, lineal descendants, and kahu families, establish protocols governing:

(A) Access by visitors, researchers, and practitioners;

(B) Ceremonial and ritual practices;

(D) Appointment, duties, and removal for cause of the official kahu, curator, and caretaker of Mauna ʻAla, including continuity of traditional and customary practices and, to the extent feasible and consistent with safety and stewardship needs, residential stewardship at Hale Hoʻolulu;

(3) Advise and collaborate with the department and other agencies regarding conservation, security, infrastructure, and visitor management;

(4) Accept, receive, and expend gifts, grants, and appropriations for purposes consistent with this section;

(5) Engage the public, Native Hawaiian organizations, and the aliʻi trusts in education, outreach, and consultation regarding Mauna ʻAla; and

(6) Submit a brief report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, a summary of the condition of the site and the activities of the working group, and financial statements, to the legislature every six months beginning in January and the final comprehensive report shall be submitted sixty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2028; provided that the reports shall also include:

(A) A summary of traditional and customary practices identified under subsection (j);

(B) A description of any rules, protocols, or decisions adopted that affected access or practice, with the written findings required by subsection (j); and

(C) A summary of contested cases requested and resolved under subsection (i) including any mitigation measures implemented to protect traditional and customary practices (k), with identifying personal information redacted as appropriate.

(e) The working group shall comply with chapters 92 and 84. Each voting member shall disclose actual or reasonably foreseeable conflicts of interest and shall recuse from decision-making where required by chapter 84 or where participation would create an appearance of undue influence. The working group shall adopt bylaws addressing quorum, voting procedures, and public participation consistent with this section. Any member with a direct personal, familial, or a pecuniary interest in a matter before the working group shall disclose the interest and, upon a majority vote by the working group, shall be recused from deliberation and voting on that matter.

(f) The working group may employ an executive director and other staff exempt from chapter 76, subject to legislative appropriation. Any executive director employed under this section shall report directly to the working group and coordinate with the department to implement policies adopted by the working group.

(g) The legislature shall appropriate sufficient funds to support the operations of the working group, including maintenance and cultural programming. The working group may also receive private or federal funds to further its objectives.

(h) The working group may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, including rules relating to access, ceremonies, maintenance, and the respectful treatment of human remains and artifacts.

(i) If any provision of this section, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the section that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this section are severable.

(j) In adopting any rule, protocol, management plan, or decision under this section, the working group shall protect all rights customarily and traditionally exercised for cultural and

religious purposes to the extent feasible and shall not regulate

such rights out of existence. At least thirty days prior to adopting any rule, protocol, or decision that may substantially

burden a traditional and customary practice, the working group

shall make written findings that:

(1) Identify the cultural, historical, and natural resources at Mauna ʻAla that are the basis of the practice, including the extent to which the practice is exercised;

(2) Identify the identity and scope of the affected practice and the persons or groups who exercise it;

(3) Evaluate the extent to which the proposed action will affect or impair the practice; and

(4) Identify feasible measures, conditions, or alternatives to reasonably protect the practice.

The working group shall provide advance public notice and a reasonable opportunity to be heard before adopting any action under this subsection.

(k) The working group shall provide reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard before taking any final action that substantially burdens a traditional and customary practice or that appoints, removes, or disciplines the official kahu, curator, and caretaker.

Upon written request by a directly and substantially affected lineal descendant or kahu family member received within twenty days after notice of the proposed final action, the working group shall conduct a contested case hearing pursuant to chapter 91. A final decision and order shall be issued in writing and shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law. Judicial review shall be available pursuant to section 91‑14.

(l) The department shall not appoint, designate, recognize, or contract for any person to serve as kahu, curator, and caretaker, or any substantially similar stewardship role for Mauna ʻAla except as provided by the working group protocol adopted pursuant to this section.

(m) For the purposes of this section:

"Hale Hoʻolulu" means the on-site caretaker residence historically associated with customary stewardship at Mauna ʻAla.

"Kahu family" means the lineal descendants of the historically recognized kahu responsible for the customary care of the burial and remains of nā Aliʻi o Hawaiʻi and stewardship of Mauna ʻAla, specifically Hoʻolulu ʻohana lineal descendants whose kuleana is associated with the secret burial of King Kamehameha I as well as the kahu, curator, and caretaker duties at Mauna ʻAla and Hale Hoʻolulu.

"Lineal descendant" means a person who can document direct descent from a person interredat Mauna ʻAla.

"Substantially burden" means to materially restrict, condition, deny, penalize, or unreasonably interfere with the exercise of a traditional and customary practice.

"Traditional and customary practice" means a practice protected by article XII, section 7, of the Hawaii State Constitution and established by Hawaiian usage within the meaning of section 1-1 including cultural and religious access, ceremony, malama iwi kupuna, and customary stewardship practices at Mauna ʻAla.

"Working group" means the royal mausoleum working group established under this section."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on September 9, 2129.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	3247
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII