THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

12

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS TO PERFORM AN ACTUARIAL STUDY ON THE SIZE OF THE CURRENT AND PROJECTED FUTURE POPULATIONS OF HAWAIIANS ELIGIBLE TO LEASE HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, in light of slowing housing production and Hawaii's high cost of living, adequate housing remains a persistent challenge for the Hawaiian community; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act authorizes the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to lease tracts of Hawaiian home lands to eligible native Hawaiians who are descendants of not less than one-half part of the blood of the races inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands previous to 1778; and

 

     WHEREAS, approximately twenty-seven thousand eligible Hawaiians are on the waitlist to lease Hawaiian home lands; and

 

     WHEREAS, in order to best serve individuals who are eligible to enter into leases for Hawaiian home lands, it is vital for the State and the federal government to have an accurate calculation of the number of eligible Hawaiians living today and a scientifically plausible estimate of the size of the eligible Hawaiian population of future generations; and

 

     WHEREAS, because many individuals of native Hawaiian ancestry have chosen to enter into interracial marriages and relationships that produce interracial offspring, estimating the size of the population of eligible Hawaiians can be particularly challenging; and

 

     WHEREAS, the last published calculation of the size of the eligible Hawaiian population appeared in a 1995 SMS Research report, submitted to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which estimated that the approximate worldwide number of eligible Hawaiians alive at the time was 68,248; and

 

     WHEREAS, the last published calculation of the size of future eligible Hawaiian populations appeared in a 1987 report, drafted by the federal Office of Technology Assessment, which estimated that the approximate number of eligible Hawaiians living in Hawaii in 2044 would be 35,725 to 53,207, depending on the rate of intermarriage among the Hawaiian population; and

 

     WHEREAS, a more recent calculation of the size of current and future eligible populations will give state and federal entities the information they need to adjust the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act as necessary; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is requested to perform an actuarial study on the size of the current and projected future populations of Hawaiians eligible to lease Hawaiian home lands; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is requested to prepare a report that includes the actuarial study's findings and recommendations and submit the report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2020; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and the Chair of the Hawaiian Homes Commission.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Hawaii Homes Commission Act; Eligible Hawaiians; Leases