Senate Standing Committee on Hawaiian Affairs

Aloha, everyone. This is the first meeting of the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs of the 33rd Legislature. And thanks for coming in today. We have some issues before us. And before we get started, I want to introduce myself. And as the Senators trickle in, I'll have them introduce themselves as well. And here we start trickling in.

My name is Tim Richards. I represent district four on the Big island, which is basically the northern half of the Big island, going from North Hilo through Hamakua, north South Kohala and down into North Kona.

Senator Alho Mai Kakou, Samantha Decord. I represent the district of 22. Majority is the Waianae Coast, which we house the largest native Hawaiian homestead population in the state. Very happy to be be here. Mahalo for being here, especially those that drove from the west side. Aloha.

Aloha. Okay, so a little bit of housekeeping first. This meeting is being streamed live on YouTube. In the unlikely event they will have to abruptly end this hearing due to technical difficulties, the Committee will reconvene to discuss any outstanding business at 1:01pm on the SEC 4th February Tuesday in this room.

And a public notice will be posted on the Legislature's website. Testifiers. Please be aware that we have a two minute time limit to ensure that everybody has enough time to submit their testimony and have their voices heard.

If there are any temporary technical glitches during the time we're testifying via zoom, we may have to move on and have the next person, but we'll be sure that people have their time to have their testimony heard. We appreciate your understanding and remind you that the Committee has your written testimony. So in the.

In the abundance of caution if you want, and so we don't run out of time. If you want to stand on your testimony, we would appreciate that. If you are interested in reviewing the written testimony, please go to the Legislature's website.

There you will find a link to this status page for the measures and you'll be able to view that testimony. We have Senator San Bueno Ventura here. Please introduce yourself.

Senator Joyce and Buenaventura, Vice Chair of Hawaiian Affairs.

Thank you, Senator. So with that we are set to get going. First, we'll start off with Senate Bill 109 testifiers. Not we have Ms. Lindsay, Deputy Attorney General of the AG on Zoom. zero, in person.

Aloha, Chair Richards, Members of the Committee, my name is Ukulele Lindsay. I'm a deputy Attorney General. I'm here on behalf of the Department of the Attorney General and we offer comments on the bill while we appreciate the intent of this bill.

Section 113 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes currently provides that the English version of the law is binding whenever there is any radical irreconcilable difference between English and Hawaiian version of any laws of the state.

By broadly amending this section of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, to allow the Hawaiian version of the law to supersede the English version may lead to ambiguities in application and interpretation of the laws.

To help mitigate these possible uncertainties, we recommend amending the proviso at page three, lines two through five of the Bill to define the bill's application to laws originally drafted in Hawaiian that have not been later amended, codified, re. Codified, or reenacted in English. Do you have any questions?

I appreciate that. We'll get through the testifying and we'll call up for questions next. I have Pua Ayu from DLNR.

All Chair Richards Members. The Department will stand on its testimony in support.

Okay, thank you. Moving on. I have Johanna Chock Tam from Olelo Hoan program.

Aloha, Chair Richards. Chair. Aloha. I am Johanna Chock Tam from the judiciary. On behalf of the judiciary, we support this bill wholeheartedly, which reinforces Ola Hawai'i status as official, as an official language, and shows that the law is drafted in Olelo, Hawaii. Can't stand along those that are written in English. And I am available for question and after.

Thank you. I have Mr. Conklin in opposition, Michael Older in support, Victor Ramos in opposition, Ulani Naipaul in support, Kawai Oha Waiki Anakalea in support. zero, they are here. Are they here? Please come up. Sorry.

Aloha.

My name is Kavayo Hawaiki and I was born and raised in Waianae. I just moved back from the mainland and I'm so excited to be here to represent these important matters. So I'm here just to make sure that this bill goes through.

Aloha.

Okay, thank you. We have Ronnie Inagaki in support. I have Kapua Keeliikoa Kamai on Zoom. Do we have someone on Zoom not.

Present on Zoom Chair.

Okay, if they come in, please let me know. And we have Pini Aloha Elehan in support and Dana Kavi in support. Is there anybody else in the room that would like to testify? Please come up. Identify yourself. Yeah. Yeah. Sit down and talk. Sorry. Please identify yourself for the record. And you have two minutes.

Yes, sir. My name is Cameron Horson, Senators. I am a Hawaiian national. I guess I've been Here since. Been here since 2008. But essentially, I hope that they also mentioned that with the translation. One thing is, like, when I went to Hawaii Pacific University, the language, Hawaiian language, is noted as a foreign language.

So I think that's very telling of how Hawaiian culture and language is treated here. It needs to be the state language or the language of Hawaii. This is, like I've been saying, the Hawaiian Kingdom.

And so one little detail I just want to say is that Olelo, Hawaii is not a foreign language and has different meanings, connotations, interpretations and pronunciations in English. Has okina, you know, and tacos. And it's not the same as English and needs to be honored because that's how it was first made. Those. This language. So it lose.

It can lose its connotation, context, and purity in translation to the English language. Just for example, real quick, because, like, the Navajo language. Yeah. There's any sort of intonation in the voice, even can make a different meaning. Yeah. And there's some words in English there aren't in Navajoya. And same with Hawaiian. Like, there's not.

There's certain English words that are not represented in the Hawaiian language that are represented in the Hawaiian language. So I just wanted to make that point, and I approve this bill.

Okay, thank you. Is there anybody else? Okay. Committee, any questions? Okay, moving on. Senate Bill 199. Testifying for OHA, do we have someone?

Aloha. Good afternoon. I'm Leinaʻala Ley. I'm the Director of Advocacy with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. We'll stand on our testimony in support with comments, but I'm here to answer questions you might have.

Okay, thank you. And again, we'll hold questions to the end of testifying. Next, we have a opposition from Kenneth Conklin. Okay. Now, Kawai, come back up because you're here in person. I pronounce your name differently because, as you well know, regional pronunciations are a little bit differently. But I'll respect your pronunciation. I'm from Kohala. We say Kauai.

Aloha. Kawaiohawaiki Anakalea. I'm here in support of this bill. This is for burial grounds, right? Is it the bill for...

No, this is cultural center.

Cultural center, yes. I'm here to stand on my testimony in support of this bill.

Okay, thank you. Moving on. Ronnie Inagaki in support. We have Cindy Freitas on Zoom, IT. Yeah, there we go. You have two minutes.

I support this bill, and I stand on my testimony. Mahalo.

Thank you. Mahalo. Moving on. We have Dana Keawe in support. We have Shelby Pikachu Billionaire in support. And we have Teri Savaiinaea in support. Is there anybody else in the room?

All right. Aloha mai kākou. Glad to see you, Chair, Vice Chair, and Members. Yeah, I like to congratulate Mr. Fevella over there. Just came in to this for introducing this bill. You know, this trip, we get Japanese cultural center. We get Chinese, Japanese, Chinese culture center. We have Korean culture center.

We have culture center for everybody else, but enough room home state our island nation one of the Hawaiian cultural center. So I think there's some good thing. About time that we get this. And I'm glad that there's a lot of support for it because we need that. We need our own place to be able to allow our culture to flourish. So thank you so much for allowing me. I'm sorry that my testimony came in late, but I just came through on stroke. So we're good to go. Aloha.

Aloha. Is there anybody else in the room wants to testify?

Aloha mai kākou, Senators. What lunchtime is? Yeah, okay. I. I just want to say that I...

Identify yourself, please.

I'm Kimmer. My clan is turtle. Turtle clan. So anyway, so the cultural centers, I think is a great idea because the luaus and that sort of thing are, like, pretty accurate. You know, they're nice and they're fun and they're entertaining. But I think what also should be included in these cultural centers is the true history of Hawaii. What really happened in the perspective of the Kānaka Maoli, not, you know, interpreted by some American. Right. So I think that's really important. Who's telling the story? I think it's a great idea. I approve of this. And mahalo.

Thank you. Anyone else? Okay, I'm going to hit the pause for a second here. We've had two new Senators step in, please. Senator Keohokalole, introduce yourself to the Committee as this is the first meeting.

Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Jarrett Keohokalole. I represent the 24th Senate District, which is Kailua and Kaneohe on the windward side of Oahu. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Keohokalole. And then we have a visiting Senator, Senator Fevella. I asked the sit in. So please, Senator.

Senator Fevella, District 20, Ewa Beach.

Thanks for being here. Okay, moving on. Bill SB 268. Excuse me. Yeah. 268 on burial councils. We have OHA advocacy in person.

Aloha, Senators. Leinaʻala Ley. I'll stand on the testimony and take questions at the end. Mahalo.

Thank you. Jessica Puff, in person.

Aloha, Chair. Vice Chair. Committee Members. I'm Jessica Puff, the Administrator for SHPD. And we stand on our testimony. Stand on our testimony and support. Thank. Thanks.

Okay, thank you. I have Kanekawaiola Lindsey in support, Ken Conklin, opposition, Hardy Spear in support, Linda Healani Sonoda-Pale in support in person.

Aloha Chair Richards, Vice Chair DeCorte and Members of the Committee. I'm testifying on behalf of Pu'uhonua o Wailupe. We are a organization whose mission is to protect Iwi Kūpuna from desecration and uphold Native Hawaiian values.

Senate Bill 268 is very, very, I think, timely and important, especially in light of what happened recently with Maui, the burials there and the recent arrest of Kia'i. And more recently other events have transpired.

But it is important to lower the number of the Island Burial Council Members, especially because QAM seems to be an issue with the Island Burial Councils. Kauai hadn't. Kauai Island Burial Council didn't meet for two years. And so it was part of the reason why the issues escalated around Iwi Kūpuna. There was no.

For people to come forward to and have a discussion. And it was no. There was nothing, no way forward for cultural descendants to be approved because it's the burial councils that approve them. So it is an issue. It's also an issue with the Moloka'i Burial Council. Multiple islands have this issue.

So I think this is really timely and we're in full support. Thank you.

Thank you. Quite a lot of testimony and support and I will be reading all the names, but I want to get the people that are here in person to testify next. In person I have Kimmer Horsen.

Aloha mai kākou. You guys know who I am now. Okay. So essentially EVs property. According to Hawaiian Kingdom law, digging up a grave was hard labor. Two years and back in like I think it's 1800s or 1700s is like without 100 like equal to $1000 in fees. Yeah. On penalty fees. Right. And I noticed that the. Okay, I'm just gonna.

I'm just gonna be real. So like the Mohawks. Yeah, the Mohawks in New York State, they have the same problem. They have their ancestors buried on their territory on. And they want. The Canadian government wanted to build the kind golf course on. On the, on their ancestors bones.

And they were just going to dig it up and take it over. Right. So they took up arms. Right. We went against. They went against. We went against the, the military, the Canadian. They even brought out the army and. And they defended themselves. Right. They stopped the, they stopped the.

It barricaded the freeways and railways and stopped traffic. And it, like, stopped the whole economy of that area. Yeah, that region. These are sort of the consequences of not honoring indigenous burial rights. I just see, it's so like, just happened in Kauai, right, with the Ohana that had bones over there. EV over there. They're all arrested.

And I just don't understand that because they have a right to defend themselves. And this is. This is not United States. This is a kingdom. This is a country. You know what I mean? It is a war crime. And it's a serious issue. If, you know, are we gonna do this to say, punch bowl?

You know, it's not very respectful. Right. It's disrespectful. It's horrible. It should never happen. I don't understand why Hawaiians get treated so bad here. It's horrible. But anyway, yeah, that's. That's it.

Thank you for your testimony.

I'm not done here.

We have two minute lift, so thank you.

Yeah, I'm not done.

We have a two minute limit on our testimony.

That wasn't two minutes.

Thank you. Yes, it was.

So I wasn't done.

Please step down.

Please step down.

I wasn't done.

I wasn't done.

Please step down. Be respectful of the other people in the room, please.

There were 600.

We are back in session. Thank you. Apologize for the disruption. I will ask that we do not have any more disruptions. We must be respectful of the Committee and what we are trying to accomplish in this Committee. Everybody's entitled to their statement and opinion and we will listen. So moving on. I have Kawaiohawaiki Anakalea.

Aloha. My name is Kawaiohawaiki Anakalea. On January 23, 2025 OHA has approved my nomination for the Island Burial Committee for Oahu. So I'm really excited. I'm hoping to hear back from the Governor soon. And so I'm here in support of this bill. I don't believe that any iwi kupuna should be moved. I think that it should be something that is respected. And I stand on my testimony.

Thank you very much. On Zoom, we have Kapua Keliikoa-Kamai.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Thank you. Cindy Freitas on Zoom.

Mahalo, again. I am in support of this bill, SB 268. However, I must comment on this. The history and disrespect of our disrespect and colonization. All due respect to the developers, landowners, etc. Throughout Hawaii history, particularly during colonization and the growth of tourism and development, burial sites were frequently desecrated.

Construction project on Earth remains often without proper protocols of consultations with Native Hawaiian community. Various sites were displaced or destroyed to make way for resorts, golf course, and other development. These action compound historical trauma to the Native Hawaiian community. I am battling right now in Kona with private landholders. I call... TOFA, DLNR, BLNR, County. None of them. None of them came out. And I saw iwi kupuna. My heart wouldn't break. My heart break. So this bill is a good bill to control this development in all due respect to them. But they need to stop doing what they're doing. Mahalo. Thank you.

Thank you so much for your testimony. We have Alfred Medeiros on Zoom.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Thank you. Keomailani Hanapi Hirata on Zoom.

Aloha ʻāina kākou. My name is Keomailani Hanapi Hirata. I'm here to testify on behalf of the Island of Molokai. Every island, like every person, we carry our own mana and we carry our own kuleana. I'm only here to speak from Molokai. And we are in opposition of SB 268. Molokai is estimated at 172,000 acres. That includes Kalaupapa.

It's 38 miles long and 10 miles wide with 88 miles of coastline. OHA has never come to Molokai to speak with any of our past or present Molokai Island Burial Council members, or even our Kia'I Huawamo des Kuleana to Malama the iwi of our ancestors, or to even hear our needs, what we struggle with, what we do.

They have never come here to advocate for us. And so we are a little bit confused on why this bill has been submitted without having any testimony, any community support. Molokai Island Burial Council did participate in the Burial Sites Working Group report, but Molokai was the only island that never signed off on that report.

Because we were never given the draft form of that report to present at our Burial Council meetings so our island's community could participate in that. We had to ask the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to send us the draft and then we had to ask for follow up if it was ever finalized. So we were never given anything.

We were never asked any questions. Our main concerns are the same concerns echoed on every single island. We have the capacity to fill our seats. The problem stems from the process, from the boards and commissions when you apply to the state historic preservation and all of those issues. So again, I'm only here to testify for Molokai. And Molokai will always stand to protect and support all of the other islands.

Thank you for your testimony.

So mahalo.

Thank you. Please stay for questions if we have them. Okay, thank you. That's all I have in person right now, and I will read the list. As I mentioned before, we have 65 in support. And continuing on, I have Johne Constance Colahan in support. All these are in support. Jeremy Burns, Kale Kanaeholo, Dana Keawe.

I think I have a misspelling. Jmi Lilinoe Bassett Asam, Teleise Scanlan, Michael McVay, Su Wong, Kehau Lucas, Kylie Borges, Elizabeth K Poire, Keiko Gonzalez, Martha Evans, Davian Keeno, Uilani Naipo, Shawn White, Simone Kamaunu, B.A. McClintock, Tadia Rice, Scott Amona, Mackenzie Plunkett, Jordan Hester-Moore, Wayne Tanaka, Sonya Davis, William Kapaku Jr.

Hauoli'ipo Wright, Lina Park, Leilani Spencer, Gabrielle Igarta, Richelle Kim, Malia Marquez, Davielynn Briones, Tiare Smith, Cheryl Bellamy, Kristy Lam, Ronnie Inagaki, Nanea Lo, Kilihea Inaba, Dawn Hegger-Nordblom, Rene Kehau Schofield, Uilani Kapu, Bobby Camara, Carol Lee Kamekona, Pua Chin, Keke Manera, Ella Aki, Jennifer Mather, Wendy Waipa, Millie Ho, Gerald Montano, Heaven Kupahu, Sunnie Kupahu, Manuel Kupahu, Lehua Hanaike, Alexander McNicoll. Is there anybody else in the room that wants to testify? Come on, come on.

Aloha mai kākou. De Mont Kalai Manaole, Co-Manager of Ho`omana Pono. And I just want to make a comment. And that come across for dealing with iwi kupuna. I would just like to see that these laws is strengthened because every year we see all the time when developers get involved and all that, they just tramp all over iwi kupuna.

And there's always an excuse from the government that allows them to continue to do that. And there is no real enforcement, you know, even from the Burial Council. I don't want to participate in all that because it's all more like pomp and circumstance. So I would just like to ask you guys, especially those who are considered, consider themselves great Americans in this, in this country. Would you allow our people to go to Arlington National Cemetery and just go ahead and just start tramping and building up over there?

I mean, America seems to think that Arlington is the most sacred place on the entire planet. And I don't think Americans would appreciate us going over there and building hale over there. So if you feel that way, if you love America and you don't want that to be desecrated, then why not allow here in our own homeland our iwi kupuna to be thoroughly protected by the same protection that you guys protect Arlington National Cemetery. And that's all I get to say. Thank you. Aloha.

Aloha. Okay, Committee, any questions? Seeing none, moving on. Senate Bill 269, budget of OHA. First of all, we have testifying OHA. Oh, Stacy.

Chair, Vice Chair, Senators. I stand on. Stacy Ferreira Office of Wine Affairs. I stand on our testimony and I'm here for questions.

Okay, thank you. I'm going to take the in person. Okay. Kimmer Horsen. I will take you if you give me your word that you'll respect the two minute.

I'm sorry you can't accept that.

You will have two minutes.

All right. I approve this Bill. I think any reparations the United States can make to the Hawaiian people is a great idea. But I think there. Needs to be more than just money. But I approve this Bill and I stand on my testimony. Mahalo.

Thank you. Did I say it right this time? Stand on your testimony? Thank you. Cindy Freitas on Zoom.

Mahalo. Cindy Freitas. I stand on my testimony for Bill SB2 69. I'm in support of this. Mahalo.

Thank you for your testimony. And then I have Kapua Kilikoa Kamai on zoom.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Okay, thank you. We have 44 in support and I'll read through these. Patty Kahana, Moku Teruya. Okay, thank you. You're here in person. Thank you. Ken Conklin in opposition. Kaneka Wailoa, Lindsay in support. If you are here, please speak out. Hardy Spear in support. The rest of these are in support.

Jimmy Lenoy, Bassett Assam, Michael McVeigh, Joanne Constant Callahan, Luanne Mahike, Lankford, Faborito Su Wong, Elizabeth Poyer, Kylie Borges, Keiko Gonzalez, Milani Naipo, Simone Kamanu, Christopher Mara Scott Amona, Wayne Tanaka, Sonia Davis, Caballo Hakabaiki, Ana Kalea, Don Stevens, Lena Park, Gabrielle Igarta, Dave Lynn Briones, Tiara Smith, Cheryl Bellamy, Christy Lamb, Casey Tabber, Don Heger, Nordbloom, Ronnie Inagaki, Renee Kehau Schofield, Jacelyn Auna, Ella Aki, Wendy Waipa, Tracy Spencer, Millie Ho, Gerald Cariao, Montano Heaven Kupahu, Sunny Kupahu, Manuel Kupahu, shel Pahinui, Alexander McNichol and Kapua Kaliikoa Kamai all in support.

Is there anybody else, please?

Aloha Chair. Aloha Vice Chair and Members, my name is Jermaine Myers. I'm a native Hawaiian from Nanukuli. I'm in support of this Bill. OHA is for the betterment of Native Hawaiians. OHA provides every year $3 million to DHHL. The way that we can support OHA even with their imperfections, but they also have perfections.

They're mandated by Sunshine Law. But anytime we can build up OHA and we can as beneficiaries, go to OHA using Sunshine Law to advocate for the needs of our community on each of the islands, by you funding them, you can support our initiatives.

So they've been in existence for many years and going through a lot of learning curves. But also the Lahore has been going through learning curves as well. And so now we can speak louder and stronger for the needs that we have. So in addition to that, we need source of funding. So thank you for your cooperation.

God bless all of you.

Thank you for your testimony. Okay, Committee, any questions for anyone? Okay. Seeing none. Moving on to 624 relating to Prince Kuhio. Okay. DHHL in person. Aloha Deputy.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair. Members of the Committee, Katie Lambert, on behalf of the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, we'll stand in support of our written, we'll stand on our written testimony in support of this Bill. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Moving on. In person, we have Patty Kahanamoku Teruya Am I saying that correctly?

Yes.

Okay, thank you.

You said it very eloquently.

Thank you.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Hawaiian Affairs Committee, My name is Palikahanamoku Teruya, LSE of Hawaiian Homelands Nanakuli. Just wanted to add Prince Jonah Kuhio is a significant figure of the Hawaiian history, known for his work promoting the rights and welfare for Hawaiians.

We support strongly to display portraits of Prince Kuhio on Pacific Hawaiian homelands buildings, public buildings. Considering engaging, and also considering engaging with community stakeholders reaching out to local community leaders, cultural organizations, and the individuals in the Hawaiian homelands wish to be involved.

Also to consider is developing educational materials that can accompany the portrait which can assist informing the public about his life, his contributions, and the significance of Hawaiian culture.

For example, along the Waianae Coast I wanted to highlight there are three public schools, charter schools, Nanakuli Village Mall, Kamehameha Learning Centers, Special Olympics Kapolei, Waianae Coast Comprehensive, several city and county parks along with churches, Hawaiian Homelands, under a General lease, community use with a very low rental compensation to the trust.

All of these buildings, schools, hospitals, malls, parks should be included in SB 624. In closing, the Waianae Coast Community foundation will continue to bring awareness of Prince Kuhio by celebrating the yearly Prince Kuhio Festival held at Kalanaanouli Beach Park Field named after our honorable Prince Jonakuhio Kalanaanoli.

This is our sixth annual and we welcome all of you to enjoy the festivities planned for March 22 in the beautiful Nanakulimoku. Mahalo for the opportunity and I urge you to support portraits that can promote cultural pride and awareness in communities island wide. Mahalo Loylo.

Thank you, thank you for your testimony. Next I have Kawaiohawaiki.

Aloha. My name is Kawai Ohawaiki and I'm here in support of this Bill. I wanted to just read some research that I wanted to share and why this is important. Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole was a true renaissance man, an athlete, politician and advocate for Native Hawaiian rights.

Born on March 26, 1871 in Kauai, he was named after his grandfathers Jonah Pikoi and Kuhio Kalanianole. After his parents death, he was adopted by King David Kalakaua, Queen Kapiolani through the traditional Hawaiian practice of Hanae. Kuhio's early life was marked by excellence in sports including football, wrestling, boxing, and surfing.

He even introduced surfing to California and Great Britain. However, his life took a dramatic turn when he joined the rebellion against the provisional government of Hawaii in 1895. He was arrest, sentenced to a year in prison, and later pardoned. Kuhio's political career spanned nearly two decades, during which he served as a delegate for the U.S. Congress from 1902 until his death in 1922.

He was a strong advocate for Native Hawaiian rights, women's suffrage, and Hawaii statehood. Some of his notable achievements include Hawaiian Homes Commission. Aki introduced this Bill in 19, 1920, which aimed to provide land for Native Hawaiians to live and farm. Statehood Bill.

Kuhio introduced the first Bill for Hawaii statehood in 1919, which eventually became a reality 40 years later. Women's suffrage. He supported the 19th Amendment of the US Constitution granting women the right to vote. Today, Prince Kuhio Kalanianaole is remembered as a champion of Native Hawaiian rights and a symbol of Hawaiian resilience.

His legacy lives on through the many institutions, landmarks, holidays named in his honor, including Prince Kuhio Day on March 26th. I'm here in support of this Bill.

Excellent timing. Thank you. Okay. In support. That's all I have. In person. Okay. Come on up. Identify yourself, please.

My name is Jermaine Myers. I'm in support of Senate Bill 624. I think it's really important that in Hawaii we acknowledge, but we acknowledge also our Hawaiian leaders, and it's our historical Hawaiian leaders, which is Prince Kuhio.

I was sad when we changed Honolulu, which is a Hawaiian word, a Hawaiian destination, when we changed the airport name from Honolulu International Airport to another important figure to Hawaii, Daniel K. Inouye. But again, Honolulu was most important to me in regards to Hawaiian homelands.

Prince Kuhio is important to us, and so it's important for us to acknowledge his existence. Many of us have devices. We always take pictures of our beloved, so we like to look at them on our phone.

We should have in high traffic areas near the public transit, but also in Hawaiian homelands for the keiki to see that these are the people that we esteem, or this is the person that we esteem in Hawaii because of his historical significance to our lineage and to Hawaiian homelands and what he has provided for Native Hawaiians in Hawaii and their successors.

You know, each state in the US esteemed their leaders. And Mount Rushmore in South Dakota is a mountain with faces of US Presidents. We should acknowledge our Prince Kuhio not just with a holiday, but also with portraits and later on with statutes in significant public spaces and buildings.

Thank you. Next. Come on up.

Aloha Senators, Leina'ala Ley on behalf of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, we would also like to testify in strong support of this measure. It is appropriate to honor Prince Kuhio for his contributions to advance native Hawaiian well being as so eloquently expressed by the previous testifiers.

And also in public places where it can educate visitors and others who don't know about the contributions he's made to our lahui. Mahalo.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Anybody else?

I just wanted to add that.

Identify yourself, please.

I. I am. I am a. Yes, I agree with everything they have said. I agree with the Bill.

I am a 10 year combat veteran, sir. I serve this country, the United States. Okay.

Identify yourself for the record, please.

Thank you for your service. Please identify yourself further.

I did already. I don't know why I have to do it again.

Each of the bills will be cut up individually.

Kimmer Horse in Big Horse Nahonu. Right. And you can stop interrupting me now. Prince Kuhio introduced originally the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. 25% blood Quantum. But he joined a rebellion against the Republican Party and lost. He took up arms and he lost.

So the racist Republican party hired the blood quantum to 50%. Right. So the more haole you are, the worse it is right for Kanaka. So want him to be recognized because that was his intent and that's why he should be honored. Mahalo.

Thank you for your testimony. Is there anybody else? 4624. We had five in support, not including the oral testimony inferred. Hawaiian Homes, misspelling Jennifer Kamahao Mather. Kawai, I don't know if she spoke. Ronnie Inagaki and Kapua Kilikoa Kamai were all in support. Excuse me. Inagaki was in opposition. Okay, Any questions from the Committee?

Yes, thank you. Ms. Lambert, for Hawaiian Homelands. My question is, why do we need a Bill? Why don't you folks just put up a portrait?

We have portraits in all of our district offices and including our headquarters. We also have a separate space, separate from our biggest building called Hale Ponoi. And that does have the portrait of the prince who has notoriously fallen down on some chairs so the beneficiaries can tell you stories.

So we do have portraits, many of them of the prints around our buildings. So we just support the intent, though of course of everybody else who's spoken about, you know, our beloved prince and what he did for us, especially for our particular program. So.

So my other question is this. Like in federal buildings, the presidents have official portraits. Do we have an official portrait of Prince Kuhio. So that we.

Because I know sometimes if we just tell them, tell people to put up a portrait, there may be, you know, it may be considered sacrilegious or it may be an artist rendering that the family may not want.

So if we're going to pass this Bill, is there going to be like an official portrait that hopefully the Hawaiian community will not disagree is disrespectful?

I'd have to get back to you on that. So there are many portraits and also photographs, but I don't know if there any was officially. If there's any one in particular that's designated as the official portrait of the prince. There might be several. I don't know. I'd have to get back to you on that.

One last thing. Sorry, sorry. Because you're here. So Ms. Teruya testified and I like that idea, which is if we pass this, maybe we make it. Maybe you folks make it like a cultural event, you know, to solicit input. And that way everyone will have stories.

Prince Kuhio stories like the prior one of him taking arms against the rebellion against, okay. That's my input. That's my request. And because I really do, if we do pass this, that we do have an official portrait, but maybe one with a lot of input because we don't want it to be disrespectful. Right. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Fevella. Sure.

You know, this came from the community. And thank you, Chair, for hearing the Bill. It's an emotional one for our people. The reason why I had brought up the transit center, it's a black eye for a lot of communities of how much it costing. We put all these kind little designs on the poles and everything like that.

But this is later on is going to be transportation for tourists. They need to know the, need to know the area. Like Patty was saying. They need to know this because it's a significance for people whose still is being oppressed and how much he came forward in doing what we need.

So that's the reason why I specialize in this. And I heard other people saying other places, which not a problem. But that was the reason on the special find on the buildings and places where people are traveling heavily can see who and what and how far we came or how far we didn't come to let them know.

Because again, like again, previous speakers said, you know, we didn't have as a people ever had an input in changing significant Hawaiian names to other names. And I don't take nothing away from Senator Inouye, which is a great man.

But I also agree if he was alive, anybody here like raise their hand if he was alive today, you think he would agree to name things like that after him? Of course not. But the names that is being changed in anybody else's honor but not honoring the people of Hawaii is, is a disservice.

So that's all I'm saying and thank you Chair again, thank you everybody who testified.

Any other questions for the deputy since we have roll? Seeing and hearing none. Okay, moving on. Senate Bill 625. Have up AG's Office. Hokule Lindsay.

Aloha.

Aloha.

Chair Richards, members of the committee, Hokule Lindsay, on behalf of the Department of the Attorney General. The Attorney General provides comments on this measure and respectfully asks that the committee hold this measure.

This bill may be subject to challenge that it violates Article 5, Section 6 of the Hawaii Constitution by requiring members of the Hawaiian Homes Commission and the Director of the Hawaiian Homelands to be elected. DHHL is a principal department of the state.

The Constitution provides that the governor shall nominate, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint heads of principal departments of the state. This bill would strip the governor of that authority. We respectfully request that the committee hold this measure. Available for questions.

Thank you. State Office of Elections. Scott Nagao. Okay, do not see. He has comments. Kali Watson. So I'm assuming you're here, so yeah. Come on up. Sorry, Deputy.

Misunderstood. Aloha. Katie Lambert, on behalf of Department of Hawaiian Homelands. Will stand on our written testimony, offering comments. Available for questions when everyone else is.

Thank you so much. Here we have Kawai or--say that for me please.

Aloha. I am Kawaiohawaiki Anakalea.

Okay.

And we are, we're talking about Bill 625.

Correct.

I've been on the list for Hawaiian Homelands for the past 20 years. I'm not sure really what's going on. I don't feel that there is much connection with the department as far as communicating what I could do. I want my land. I feel like I've been waiting long enough.

I'm not sure why the governor has to appoint people in these positions to make the decisions. It should be kanaka making decision on when we get our land, where our land is going to be, and we're just tired of feeling like we're being treated like second class citizens in our own land and it's hurtful. So I'm here in support of this bill that more of the power should be shifted to the Hawaiian people in these matters. Thank you.

Thank you. Patty Kahanamoku-Teruya.

Aloha again, Chair Richards, members. I wasn't really going to testify, but thank you for the introducer who put this through. I think this bill--I had to read it a couple of times to really understand it and it's asking the--an election for the commission, the nine Commission for DHHL.

I will support something like that, but then my next question will be if you have an election for the nine commissioners, then would they now get paid? Would they now be able to get compensated because they're going through a whole election? How does the election process go through as far as campaigning and things like that?

Currently the governor appoints the commission to their seats of different islands, and that seems to be--and I'll be very open--it seems to be such a political appointment that for years, the department, it struggles to move forward as well as policies, as far as serving our beneficiaries, as far as discussions and things that way.

We have nine commissioners that represent different islands and I think their terms are kind of too short. It could be extended because you have commissioners that are very institutionalized and very helpful to the department and staff. So reading this bill, I think it also changes the Hawaiian Homestead Act.

I think it has to go to the congressional level for approval, but it is something to consider. I know this came to this Hawaiian Committee yearly. I think it comes practically--Senator Fevella comes all the time and I'm not sure what, what to do with this, what you guys would do with this, but it is something for discussion because it has valid concerns to the appointments of commission and their duties and the fiduciary duties.

And so as a former commissioner, I can vouch to that. It's not easy. It's, it's a volunteer position, but it's a position that you love to serve your beneficiaries and your communities. So thank you for that opportunity.

Thank you. I have De Mont Kalai Manaole.

Aloha Mai Kakou. I'm Kalai Manaole, co-manager of Ho'omana Pono LLC, a native Hawaiian advocacy corporation operating on one ECOS, and this is the bill that I came over here for. I would just like to state, just emphatically, this bill would be DOA. Is dead on arrival.

In 2000, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling on Rice versus Cayetano that specifically stated, 'Hawaii's denial of right to vote in OHA trustee elections violates the Fifteenth Amendment.' So I mean, what are we doing here? I personally don't believe in a governor appointing commissioners to the commission.

I believe the commissioners should be elected by us, trust beneficiaries. Trust beneficiaries. Not everybody in the State of Hawaii, but trust beneficiaries. Why? Because that is our trust. It belongs to us. Now if the governor let appoint the director of Department of Hawaiian Homelands, hey, right on.

But something should belong to us, and we just, we're going to run this course all over again and then it's going to go up before being law and lawsuit and it's going to get shut down because you cannot deprive people in the State of Hawaii being able to vote under the Fifteenth Amendment.

So unless the Fifteenth Amendment is changed and unless Congress changes the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act itself, I don't think this bill won't fly. You know, so with all due respect, there's all kinds of problems with this bill and I don't know why we're wasting our time.

I think that we should have one--I don't know how the process can be made, but trust beneficiaries is the one that should be selecting the commissions. That's all I believe in. And how they get there, maybe you, everybody might be able to figure that out. Aloha.

Aloha. Thank you. Is there any other want to--come on up. Again, identify for your record please.

Thank you, Chair. My name is Jermaine Myers. I respectfully oppose this bill for the same reasons that others have opposed the bill as well, but I just want to lift up the spirit and intention of this bill, which is for us, the people, to--and what De Mont just stated--the trust beneficiaries to be the ones to elect our commissioners because same like here in the Senate, we elect you, but we don't come here and elect the president of the Senate.

You, the body, elect the president and the vice president of the Senate. Same thing on the House side. So I stand with the spirit of this bill, which is saying, we the people that are being affected by this body of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, we should elect them, and then from there, they should then elect the Chair of the board of the commission.

Then--so in the spirit of that, I support Senate Bill 1532,1532, which I hope that Chair can bring back--bring up on the agenda for us to speak about because it is aligned with the Commission Act in that currently the governor appoints. The only thing that this Senate Bill 1532 is that it switches the majority so that the spirit of our voice and our strength can lie in the beneficiaries.

Currently the way the Commission Act is written is that, four, the minority, is gotta be lessees or beneficiaries. They have to live on the land. And five don't have to live on the land. Well, five that don't want things to move forward for the benefit of those that live on the land, then they have the majority.

So by switching it over to five with someone like Patty Kahanamoku-Teruya, who was our previous commissioner, Commissioner Awol, Commissioner Neves, Commissioner Helm, they are all residents of or lessees of Hawaiian Homes, and so they gotta come home to us and explain to us how do they vote, how they took action, how they took inaction. It's very much stronger with that. Oh, my two minutes are up?

I'm sorry. Didn't realize that.

Yes.

No, no, no. That's all right. Thank you.

God bless all of you.

Okay. Aloha. Thank you. Anybody else? Come on up.

Okay, so I'm in favor of this bill.

Please identify it for the record because it gets--

Kimmer Horsen.

Thank you.

Thank you. Aloha. The trust beneficiaries of Turtle Island, I think it just needs to go all back to what Prince Jonah Kuhio, the original author of this act, his intent was, the 25% blood quantum. I don't know how that's going to get implied. That's up to the kanaka maoli.

I know that OHA is--the vote is, like she said, put towards a sort of a democratic vote of all people here in Hawaii, occupants, right, but it has to get resolved. United States, I don't know why they're meddling in Hawaiian affairs. So it's just really messed up, so--but something--some decisions have to be made, and the original, I think the original land--Crown Land was the Great Mahele. So if you guys go off that document, you'll be pretty accurate. So that's just a suggestion, but I do favor this bill. Mahalo.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Okay. Last call on this bill. Anybody else? Okay, hearing none.

Chair? Can I call Patty Kahanamoku Teruya?

Yep. For briefly; allow a little latitude here, Senator.

Just, yes. I'd like something corrected that wasn't corrected in the bill, and I know--so you would support it if it was just our Hawaiian people, trust people that's on the Hawaiian Homestead land to be able to vote for the commissioners? Yeah.

I think the beneficiaries should get the opportunity.

This bill, when it was sent back to me was the only reason why to get it heard, and I will work with them again next year, Chair, because that was my intent. But LRB discussed it with me and I'll have a talk with them. The intention of this bill was for kanaka maoli, who's on homestead land, to vote. Not everybody like OHA. And as I read through the bill, I understand that. That's why I wanted to come. And I--sorry--like I said, I bring it up now, but everybody that said that right now is correct.

It was never intended for everybody on the island to vote for Hawaiian Homestead commissioners and the director. So I work on this again, Senator Richards and committee.

Maybe you could include wait-listers, too, yeah?

Yeah.

Just wanted to thank Senator Fevella for your initiative and on the several bills that you introduced to help native Hawaiians. Thank you, Senator.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Are there any other questions from the committee?

I have a question for the Attorney General's Office. So it wasn't mentioned in your testimony, but it was mentioned--well, basically, everything that De Mont and Jermaine said, I agree with; pretty much exactly the way they said it.

And it was brought up in the same way in the Department of Hawaiian Homeland's testimony, but not in yours, which is basically that the precedent that was set by the Rice vs Cayetano case says that if we limit the type of person who could run for a commissioner seat, like how they used to do at OHA, just to native Hawaiian beneficiaries, that a non-Hawaiian could sue and it would likely be overturned in court, and then open up the application for whoever wanted to run for a commissioner seat to any state resident, right? So you agree with that?

I think--well, Rice versus Cayetano says essentially that, right? But I think--

And then in Arakaki versus Lingle, which was the case afterward, they basically took that ruling and they said, well, that also means that non-Hawaiians can vote for--or actually it was the opposite way, right--it was the opposite. In Rice vs Cayetano, they said non-Hawaiians can vote for OHA. And then in Arakaki, they said, well, if non-Hawaiians can run for OHA too, right, because both of those restrictions violate the Fifteenth Amendment.

Yep. Right. So I think, you know, probably the best way for us to really get into the issue of who can--who would be able to vote and the ramifications of that and who would be able to run and the ramifications of that would be for us to get that question and provide you folks with an analysis.

Okay, so--and I respect that, but at the table, you're not inclined to disagree with the testimony that the Department of Hawaii and Homeland submitted, which is that those two cases present problems with this? Okay. Even though I agree with the premise of the bill. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Chair.

Any other questions from the committee? All right, thank you. We're gonna go into recess, discuss decision-making. We're in recess.

Back in session for two quick testimonies. Please sit down. Identify yourself, please, for the record.

Aloha. My name is. And this is Baby Kane. So I just wanted to share. Like I hear these things you guys talking about. Yes. Okay. About the Department of Hawaiian. My husband just died in September of 2024. And we was on the list for years and we've had to run around left and right.

So even if we wanted to, we wasn't able to be any kind of voter or no situation like that. But what I'm going to say today is that I am a child of the most high. I operate on the truth and the Treaty of Hawaii, and we are Kamehameha descendants. Me, Tutu, the baby.

And what stands today is the truth, which is a Hawaiian kingdom which still exists. And all of you guys, Ohana is operating under a stolen non treaty with the Hawaiian Nation. So that's where I stand with that. So any other things that you guys are saying about this and that, about voting and.

And laws and stuff like that don't even matter to us because we operate on the truth. And the Most High is the one that's gonna bring justice. And he's merciful. So if anything, he's over here long suffering, waiting for you guys to make right what was wrong.

And if not, then he will take it into his own hands because his mercy can only last so long. After that, he's going to serve justice and it's going to be individual to every person. Talk about free will. You guys all have free will. You, me, everyone. Free will to do what is right and pono.

And that's where we are today. And I just give that to you and I say blessings, y'all. Blessings to us all. Because that's all we need is God's law. That's how she'd be operating, everything. Mahalo

Thank you. Angela.

Aloha, Angela Melody Young from Rourke. And so I am not Hawaiian. I'm 100% pure Chinese, like I mentioned in the House of Representatives when we were going over the restoration of the Hawaiian Lands legislation. And I love the Hawaiian people.

And of course, we all like our children to grow up in a clean environment with respect to the mountains and the ocean systems and the Hawaiian way of life. So this legislation seeks to amend the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, which I believe, if I'm not wrong, as a federal act. Legislated in 1920 in Washington from Congress. Right.

So I think it would be more appropriate to amend the Constitution, which, in the State of Hawaii, created the fourth Executive Branch of Government, OHA, Office of Hawaiian Affairs. So if it violates the Constitution, it is limited by the statutory provisions of the Hawaii's Constitution.

Then does it require an amendment to the Hawaii's constitution which will set the standards for the eligibility of the qualifications of the Members? Because if the Constitution has the authority to create the fourth executive branch, then wouldn't it also have the authority to designate the eligibility of the Members of this Commission?

So the Department of Hawaiian Homelands has distributed lots of land to beneficiaries, but there are still a lot of people on the wait list. And following the Maui Wildfire recovery event, advocates and Hawaiian homes beneficiaries have urged lawmakers to amend the Hawaiian Homes Commission and the qualifications for eligibility for the Members of the Commission.

So that's all I have to say. I support the Hawaiian community. Thank you very much.

Thank you for your testimony. And we do have one Cindy Freitas on. Zoom it. Go ahead, Ms. Freitas. You have two minutes.

My name is Cindy Freitas. I am a descendant of the native Hawaiian inhabitant prior to 1778, born and raised in Hawaii, and also a cultural practitioner. This I oppose Bill SB 625. There will be a political gridlock and instability on this issue. Not only that, uncertainty and delays in congressional approval, federal oversight.

Any changes to the structure of the Hawaiian Homes Commission and the DHHL requires congressional approval. This adds an extra layer of uncertainty to the process. Congressional approval can be delayed or blocked, creating a situation where the proposed reform cannot be implemented until federal policymakers agree to them. Risk of federal interference.

Even if Congress approves the changes, there could still be issues with the Federal Government role in overseeing the program, potentially limiting the ability to the election official to enact the changes they believe are necessary. Thank you. Have a good day.

Okay. Thank you so much for your testimony. Okay. We have a hard deadline right here. And I think there was one more testifier, seeing none. Okay. We have two minutes. We have a hard deadline and we've had some decisions. So if you want to come up, identify yourself. You have two minutes. No?

Yeah, you can come identify yourself. You have two minutes. Because I got a hard deadline in 10 minutes on this.

Hello, my name is Kelvin Hulehe. I'm a Konohike for Kingdom of Hawaii and the Kamehamehas, the Kamualis and other descendants. That is in line with this chain of Hawaiian Nation. And we have to follow rule of laws, chain of command. And our command was King Kamehameha.

And they passed it down to his heirs and it's really simple to understand the structure of this government which you're trying to put in place. That was in place and somehow it got taken away. So we're trying to bring them back with the help with you guys, we can have it back.

The rightful, truthful government of the people for the Hawaiians and whoever is welcome. So I'm not smart, anything, but I get common sense, ordinary sense. And I believe in him. That's my main walk, why I here today. That's my main reason why I live here today. Because of him.

And I hope you guys realize that too, that because of him we all hear today what we're doing, what we're doing. And look what you guys doing. I feel very ashamed. You guys not on our own page. Really. You guys not on our own page.

Try to think about it, please, and be accountable and have respect for him and for our Hawaiian people. Thank you very much.

Thank you for your testimony. Okay, we're going to go on recess and move into decision making. We are back in session for decision making on Senate Bill 109. Chair recommends that we pass with amendments and accept the Attorney General's edits. Specifically on page three, lines two through five. I need to read those out. Good enough. Okay.

So with the amendments and some tech amendments on Senate Bill 109, Chair votes aye.

Passing SB 109 with amendments. Chair votes aye. Vice Chair votes aye. Senator Ihara is excused. Senator Keohokalole. Senator Decorte. Aye. Chair recommendation has been adopted.

Thank you. Moving on to Senate Bill 199. It's recommendation of the Chair to pass with amendments proposed by OHA. Specifically that we will be building one cultural center on Oahu by 2040. Some tech recommendations. Passing 199 with amendments.

Chair vote aye. Passing SB199 with amendments. Are there any reservations?

Reservations?

Reservation. Senator Keohokalole. And with execute of.

Excuse me. Also to defect the date that was the other amendment on 199.

Okay. As amended twice. We're voting on SB199 with amendments and a defect date with. Excuse.

July 1, 2050.

To July 1, 2050. Passing with amendments on SB199 with a defect date of July 1, 2050 with Senator Ihara being excused. Are there any reservations? Senator Keohokalole.

Reservations. Thank you.

Okay. Senator Keohokalole's reservations. Are there any no's? Chair, the recommendation has been adopted.

Thank you. Moving on to Senate Bill 268. Recommendation of the Chair to adopt with amendments. And there are Some tech amendments. So on Senate Bill 268 with amendments chair both sides.

What about defect date? You're still good? Okay. Pass with amendments. Effective date okay with Senator Ihara being excused. SB268 chair's recommendation is to pass with amendment. Are there any reservations? Seeing none. Are there any? No. Seeing none. Chair recommendation has been adopted.

Thank you, Vice Chair. Moving on. Senate Bill 269 budget of OHA. It is the recommendation of the chair to pass with amendments defective date to July 31, 2050 and there's some technical amendments that need to be dealt with. Passing with amendments. Chair votes Aye.

SB269 Chair's recommendation is to pass with amendments. Senator Ihara being excused. Are there any reservations? Seeing none. Are there any no's? Seeing none, chair recommendation has been adopted.

Thank you. Moving on to Senate Bill 624 concerning Principal Hill. It is the recommendation of the chair to pass with as is with a few technical amendments. Passed with amendments. With some technical amendments. And one other thing I'd like to do.

I like the conversation about a portrait or a picture of Prince Cohio and I'm going to ask in the Committee notes DHHL looks and get an official portrait of the prince.

So if we could work on that and have that coming forth And I'd like to work with the community to have input from the community because I think it's important that we all agree that what we need to have going forward.

So I would ask that Deputy so with that that will be included into the Committee notes on Senate Bill 624. 624 as okay, only take amendments on 624 chair votes aye.

Passing. S 624 with amendments. Senator Ihara Bink sues. Are there any reservations? Seeing none. Are there any no's? Seeing none, chair recommendation has been adopted.

Okay, thank you. Finally, on Senate Bill 625, part of the reason of hearing this Bill is to have the conversation that we had and highlighted the problems that we have. And so it is the that doesn't stop the conversation going forward. It highlights where we have issues that we need to look at.

And so with that it's a recommendation of the chair to defer indefinitely, continue the conversations, hearing nothing else. We stand adjourned. Thank you everybody.