REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT AN AUDIT OF THE MONEYS APPROPRIATED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS PURSUANT TO ACT 279, SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII 2022.

SR14

THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

14

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

REquesting the Auditor to conduct an audit of the MONEYS
appropriated to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Pursuant to Act 279,
Session laws of hawaii 2022
.

WHEREAS, Act 279, Session Laws
of Hawaii 2022 ("Act 279"), as amended by Act 125, Session Laws of
Hawaii 2024, appropriated $600,000,000 to eliminate the Department of Hawaiian
Home Lands ("DHHL" or "the Department") waitlist by
providing land and housing to native Hawaiians; and

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WHEREAS, DHHL
was authorized to use the appropriated moneys to develop residential lots and
housing units, purchase land, provide financial assistance to the waitlisted
applicants, and other necessary services; and

����
WHEREAS, Act
279 mandates that DHHL establish a strategic plan that aligns with the
beneficiaries' preferences, as identified in the 2020 Beneficiaries Study
Applicant Report, with seventy-six percent of beneficiaries preferring a
single-family home or a vacant lot for home construction, and sixteen percent
preferring rental or rent-to-own options for single-family homes, duplexes,
apartments, or townhouses; and

WHEREAS, Act 279 further
mandates that DHHL submit an annual report on the first day of each regular
session that includes an accounting of the expenditures for the purposes of the
act in the previous fiscal year, and the number of applicants on the waiting
list that were assisted; and

WHEREAS, as of 2022, the DHHL
waitlist included over 28,700 native Hawaiian beneficiaries, a number that has
grown despite the intent of Act 279; and

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WHEREAS, the
entire appropriation of $600,000,000 was reportedly attached to projects by
early 2025, targeting over 7,500 homes and lots over the next five years; and

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WHEREAS, a
news release dated April 25, 2025 reported that DHHL planned to issue more than
2,600 leases by the end of 2025; and

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WHEREAS,
on January 17, 2024,
DHHL
submitted its required
Annual Activity Report which stated it had encumbered and expended
approximately $193.7 million, with a projected total of 1,489 applicants on the
waiting list having been assisted in fiscal year 2023
; and

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WHEREAS,
on January 15, 2025,
DHHL
submitted its required
Annual Activity Report which stated that it had encumbered and expended
approximately $363.4 million, with a projected total of 185 applicants on the
waiting list having been assisted in fiscal year 2024
; and

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WHEREAS, as
of January 21, 2026, the first day of regular session, DHHL's Annual Activity
Report, as required by Act 279, was not yet publicly available; now, therefore,

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BE IT
RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii,
Regular Session of 2026, that the Auditor is requested to conduct an audit on
the Department of the Hawaiian Home Lands as related to the moneys allocated to
it pursuant to Act 279 and the 2020 Beneficiaries Study Applicant Report; and

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

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:
�

Department
of Hawaiian Home Lands; Auditor; Audit; Act 279, Session Laws of 2022; Act 125,
Session Laws of 2024