LEO 'ELELE - TRUSTEE MESSAGES

It's time for OHA to receive
its past-due revenue

Boyd P. Mossman Trustee, Maui

Aloha kākou,

The State v. OHA case has been heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and now we can only hope. The Akaka Bill continues on course but likely will need to be fine-tuned to meet muster. The moratorium bill from OHA may have some life but it's doubtful and finally HB 901, which tries to get the Legislature to pay us back after 31 years of unpaid debt, should be still alive at this printing.

I sat in on a hearing or two with the House and Senate in Honolulu and Maui in February. Rep. Mele Carroll's committee took the initiative and went from island to island receiving overwhelming positive support for the OHA bill to repay OHA the equivalent of $200 million in lands. Mahalo to all who attended. OHA held 45 hearings last year and interestingly enough many of the same Hawaiians who successfully fought the bill last year are back swinging hard, including Bumpy Kanahele and Mililani Trask.

OHA lost out on $200 million plus another $10 million in interest last year, which surely could have helped many Hawaiians who had to be denied help this year. This time Ms. Trask has asked the House Committee to keep the money owed OHA and not allow it to be used for the Hawaiian people until she's good and ready. Mr. Kanahele said OHA trustees were incompetent and that land and money should not be paid back to OHA. I left as Keoni Agard started to add his support to these two. Despite the hundreds of letters and testimony in support of OHA and its bill, just a handful like the above torpedoed the bill last year. This year they're having a more difficult time coming up with persuasive arguments because the bill covers the same ground but has changed to address the complaints from last year. In the meantime, OHA lost a prime parcel at Kalaeloa, which was the target of unjustified and unsubstantiated allegations last year. The state has decided it is going to develop it as a State project with zero revenues coming to OHA.

One 83-year-old supporter, Mr. James Kon, said he was 52 when this debt started accruing and hoped that he would live to see it paid. Another, Mr. Bo Kahui, said he was 50 now and hoped he wouldn't have to wait as long as Mr. Kon. Many on Maui testified in support and on the other islands as well.

Hilo was more controversial, and there Trask sprung on the committee and OHA a confidential OHA document which this trustee never saw before. Both she and Mr. Kanahele in addition to their regular rhetoric charged the current OHA trustees with incompetence and inability to manage any lands. Trask, a former OHA Trustee, even said she had been contacted by Sen. Clayton Hee, another former OHA trustee, to consult with her regarding his unilateral decision to scuttle OHA's bill with his own version (with no notice to or consultation with OHA, no due diligence, no acknowledgment of the hundreds of testimonies from last year and this year, no thorough study compared to the years of work between OHA and the State as well as the efforts made during his tenure as trustee, no thought to securing a means of income for a new governing entity, and turning a deaf ear to the majority for a few who would have OHA spend more money to manage broken fishponds, swamp lands, Kahana Valley, constituent requests, etc.)

Hawaiians need to understand that they are being deprived of millions in dollars and lands because of a handful who have the time and take the opportunity to speak louder than you and who have it in for OHA no matter what we do. HB 901 asks the Legislature to pay OHA for a 31-year-old debt. Contact your legislators and tell them it's time.