OHA reacts to Supreme Court decision in the Corboy case

By Harold Nedd

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs on June 29 issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in Corboy v. Louie.

The plaintiffs had sued the state and two county governments to eliminate property tax exemptions currently available only to those living on Hawaiian Home Lands. The Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to bring the case in 2011 and that decision was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This is a great day for Native Hawaiians," said Colette Machado, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. "We are extremely pleased with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision. We congratulate the state attorney general and his staff attorneys on their legal victory, which not only protected laws granting tax exemptions to those living on Hawaiian Home Lands, but also helped protect other programs designed to better conditions for Native Hawaiians.”