The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is one of many agencies and organizations that is anxiously eyeing budget numbers, anticipating cuts in financial support from the federal government. So the passage of a bill to solidify the funding the state owes OHA is exquisitely timed; it should get Gov. Josh Green’s signature.
The initiative is just part of OHA fiscal efforts to enlarge revenue sources, taking it into sectors of the private business world as well.
The measure to be enacted is Senate Bill 903, which would cement public funds long promised to the semi-autonomous state agency. Resurrected this session after stalling in conference last year, SB 903 also allots an additional $55 million in revenue from “ceded lands” as a partial payment of the debt, on top of the $21.5 million OHA already receives.
And the bill requires a working group, created in 2022, to submit an accurate accounting of revenues
Hawaii garners from the lands, aimed at settling a
decades-old dispute over what OHA is due under law.
The ceded lands are the crown and government lands from the Hawaiian kingdom, ceded to the United States with the 1898 annexation of Hawaii.
Under the state’s Admission Act of 1959, Native Hawaiians were one of five public purposes for spending the ceded lands revenues. This led to the finding that OHA, representing the trust set aside for Native Hawaiians, was owed a 20% share annually.
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The trouble is, there hasn’t been a clear accord on the total figure for the revenue. OHA has insisted that its share should be far more than what it’s been receiving.
Over the course of recent years, OHA has moved, understandably, to diversify its revenue streams, including various real estate ventures. But each such opportunity should be weighed additionally on the basis of how it serves the public interest.
For example, OHA is also now evaluating whether it should purchase a local broadcast company: the pairing of ABC-TV affiliate KITV and KIKU, which airs Japanese and Filipino programming. They are owned by Allen Media Group.
OHA, which is now engaged in due diligence, early in the exploration of a potential purchase, is aware of the impact broadcasting can bring to an entity with an indigenous population as beneficiaries. In its own newspaper, Ka Wai Ola O OHA, is an article about a visit to a New Zealand television station offering programming in the Maori language. A local station could certainly expose a larger audience to the Hawaiian language as well.
But what’s concerning especially to journalism advocates is the possible effect on KITV 4 Island News, the station’s long-established news operation. There would need to be serious discussion about how a government agency such as OHA could ensure editorial integrity for the station.
The more immediate issue, however, is resolving the obligation the state has for the Native Hawaiians’ share of revenues from what had been native-controlled lands.
Under SB 903, the working group is to deliver a first interim report on its accounting of ceded lands revenues by Aug. 1, 2027. A series of interim reports will culminate Oct. 1, 2028, in a final report including proposed legislation. OHA is to provide administrative assistance to the working group.
Some welcome collaboration between OHA and the Legislature, hammering out final language over the past year, led May 1 to the measure emerging from conference committee for approval.
The looming federal cuts were the prompt for action, which is sometimes what it takes to advance past roadblocks. The immediate funds, and the promise of a final resolution, are gratifying signs that needed programs for Native Hawaiians can be sustained.