Office of Hawaiian Affairs submits 4 bills for consideration during 2025 state legislative session

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs on Friday submitted its legislative package to the Native Hawaiian Caucus of the Hawai‘i Legislature for consideration during its 2025 legislative session.

“The [Office of Hawaiian Affairs] package contains four bills that will help address pressing issues facing Hawai‘i as well as advance [the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’] mission to improve the conditions of Native Hawaiians,” said Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees Chairman Kai Kahele of Hawai‘i Island.

Opening day of the 2025 session for the Hawai’i Legislature is Jan. 15.

Summaries of the bills follow:

Funding: Relating to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs budget

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is requesting general fund increases of $1,858,454 in fiscal year 2025-26 and $1,996,208 in fiscal year 2026-27, as reflected in the fiscal year 2025-26 and fiscal year 2026-27 budget totals of $4.8 million and $4.9 million, respectively.

These increases are necessary to adjust for the cost of inflation since 2020 when the agency began implementing its strategic plan “Mana i Maoli Ola” (“Strength to Well-being”) and fund the newly created 13-member Strategy and Implementation Team.

The team will develop tactics to reduce disparities Native Hawaiians face in health, housing, education and economic development in line with the strategic plan and provide metrics to track the impact funding is making in improving Native Hawaiian social conditions, among other initiatives vital to attaining the Office of Hawaiian Affairs statutory mandates.

Public Lands inventory and audit: Relating to the Public Land Trust Working Group

The state Legislature created in 2022 the Public Land Trust Working Group to:

• Account for all ceded lands in the public lands trust inventory.
• Account for all income and proceeds derived from the public land trust.
• Determine the 20% pro rata share of income and proceeds due annually to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs from the public land trust.

The Public Land Trust Working Group unanimously agreed to submit this bill to fund and hire an independent third party to audit and review the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Public Land Trust Inventory System and assess the accuracy of the related land inventory and accounting systems.

Kaka‘ako Makai bill: Relating to the Hawai‘i Community Development Authority

The state Legislature in 2012 conveyed Kaka‘ako Makai lands from the state valued at about $200 million to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as settlement of past due amounts.

The valuation was based on residential development as the highest use of the Kaka‘ako Makai lands. This bill would repeal the residential development prohibition on certain land parcels, allowing the agency to maximize the value of Kaka‘ako Makai lands consistent with the legislative intent.

This bill would also:

• Raise the residential height limit along Ala Moana Boulevard to 400 feet, subject to the provision that 50% + 1 unit in any tower would be reserved for essential workforce housing, less than 140% average median income.
• Dedicate a portion of residential association fees to the maintenance of open spaces and public infrastructure preserving public access and use of the shoreline areas.
• Require owner occupancy of all residential units.

Protection of iwi kūpuna: Relating to Island Burial Council composition

This bill would address longstanding quorum and composition issues by removing the designated landowner seat from the Island Burial Councils, allowing councils to meet with a quorum of 7 members — with the exception of Moloka‘i, which will remain at 5 members.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs also anticipates supporting additional legislation to implement recommendations made by the Burial Sites Working Group convened in 2022.