RELATING TO PUBLIC LAND TRUST REVENUES.

HB293

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

293

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to public land trust revenues
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that the State must set
right and fulfill its trust responsibilities to the indigenous people of Hawaii,
consistent with governmental action across America to address injustices
against indigenous peoples.
�
It is
incumbent upon the legislature to enact legislation that upholds its trust
responsibilities and duty of care to native Hawaiians to account for all ceded
lands in the public land trust inventory, account for all income and proceeds
derived from the public land trust, and transfer the full twenty per cent pro
rata share of income and proceeds from the public land trust annually to the
office of Hawaiian affairs for the betterment of the conditions of native Hawaiians.

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Act 273, Session Laws of Hawaii
1980, enacted section 10‑13.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to implement the
office of Hawaiian affairs' pro rata share and required that the office of
Hawaiian affairs receive "[t]wenty per cent of all funds derived from the
public land trust."
�
This
legislative directive addressing the constitutional mandate has led to a series
of lawsuits and legislative enactments concerning the office of Hawaiian
affairs' constitutional pro rata share of the public land trust.
�
The State and the office of Hawaiian affairs
have labored to resolve the political question of the statutory pro rata share
of income and proceeds derived from the public lands trust, and payment to the
office of Hawaiian affairs.
�
Act 178,
Session Laws of Hawaii 2006, affirmed the State's trust obligation under article
XII, section 6, of the state constitution to native Hawaiians by requiring that
the department of land and natural resources provide an annual accounting of
revenue-generating public trust lands and the amounts derived from those lands
to the legislature.
�
The interim measure
also set a fixed amount of $15,100,000 from the pro rata share of the public
land trust income and proceeds due to the office of Hawaiian affairs for the
betterment of the conditions of native Hawaiians until further action is taken
by the legislature for this purpose.

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Act 15, Session Laws of Hawaii 2012,
was enacted to address past-due amounts, which accumulated during the period
between November 7, 1978, up to and including June 30, 2012, of income and
proceeds from the public land trust owed to the office of Hawaiian affairs by
implementing an agreement between the State and the office of Hawaiian affairs
for the State to convey certain lands in Kakaako, Oahu, to the office of
Hawaiian affairs valued at approximately $200,000,000.
�
Act 15 did not, however, address the State's
constitutional obligations relating to the office of Hawaiian affairs' twenty
percent pro rata share of the income and proceeds from the public land trust
generated after June 30, 2012.
�
Notably,
a 2015-2016 financial review initiated by the office of Hawaiian affairs found
that the minimum amount of total gross receipts from sources that the office of
Hawaiian affairs has historically claimed was approximately $394,322,163 in the
fiscal year 2015-2016.
�
Twenty per cent
of this amount is approximately $78,900,000.

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The legislature finds that to uphold
its constitutional trust obligation and duty to the indigenous people of Hawaii,
it must enact another legislative measure in light of the information, data,
and facts provided to the legislature by state agencies since the enactment of
Act 178, Session Laws of Hawaii 2006, more than a decade ago.

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The purpose of this Act is to
increase the amount of moneys transferred from the public land trust to the
office of Hawaiian affairs.

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SECTION 2.
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Section 10-13.3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:

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"
[
[
]�10-13.3[
]
�

Interim
]

Public land trust
revenue.
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(a)
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Notwithstanding the definition of revenue
contained in this chapter and the provisions of section 10-13.5, and
notwithstanding any claimed invalidity of Act 304, Session Laws of Hawaii 1990,
the income and proceeds from the pro rata portion of the public land trust
under article XII, section 6 of the state constitution [
for expenditure by
]

shall be transferred to
the office of Hawaiian affairs for the
betterment of the conditions of native Hawaiians [
for each of fiscal year
1997-1998 and fiscal year 1998-1999 shall be $15,100,000.
]
pursuant to
this section.

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(b)
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All departments and agencies that collect
receipts for the use of ceded or public land trust land shall:

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(1)
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Establish trust
holding accounts to accumulate the office's portion of each receipt that would
otherwise be deposited into the general fund or a special fund, and to
accumulate the remainder of each receipt that would otherwise be deposited into
the general fund for the rest of the fiscal year;

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(2)
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Determine if:

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(A)
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Any
federal or state law precludes any portion of the receipt from being used to
better the conditions of native Hawaiians; or

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(B)
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The
transfer of any portion of the receipt will cause the department or agency to
renege on any pre-existing pledge, rate covenant, or other pre-existing
obligation to holders of revenue bonds or other indebtedness of the State,
department, or agency;

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(3)
�
If use of a
receipt is not limited by the provisions of paragraph (2):

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(A)
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Determine
the office's share of the receipt by calculating the ceded and non-ceded
fraction for the parcel that generated the receipt by area (square feet or
acres), multiplying the receipt by the ceded and non-ceded fraction, and
multiplying that result by twenty per cent;

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(B)
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Deposit
the resulting amount into the appropriate trust holding account established
pursuant to paragraph (1) to accumulate the office's portion; and

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(C)
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Deposit
the remaining portion of the receipt into the general fund if it would
otherwise be deposited into the general fund, or deposit the remaining portion
of the receipt into the appropriate special fund;

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(4)
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If use of a
receipt is limited by subparagraph (2)(A) or (B), report the receipt as a gross
receipt in a manner as required by the department of land and natural resources,
and deposit the entire amount to the credit of the general fund or special fund,
as appropriate; and

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(5)
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Within ten
calendar days of the close of each fiscal quarter:

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(A)
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Notify
the department of budget and finance in a manner established by the department
of budget and finance of the receipts collected and deposited in each of its
trust holding accounts, and transferred to the office; and

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(B)
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Transfer
all receipts deposited in its trust holding accounts to the office and transmit
records of that transfer to the office and the department of budget and finance.
"

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SECTION 3.
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Nothing in this Act shall resolve or settle,
or be deemed to acknowledge the existence of, the claims of native Hawaiians to
the income and proceeds of a pro rata portion of the public land trust under
article XII, section 6, of the state constitution.

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SECTION 4.
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Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory
material is underscored.

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SECTION 5.
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This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Office of
Hawaiian Affairs; Pro Rata Share; Minority Caucus Package

Description:

Requires
that all moneys in the pro rata portion of the Public Land Trust be transferred
to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.