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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
217 |
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TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
requesting the auditor to conduct an audit of policies and procedures of the department of hawaiian home lands with regard to the revocable permit program.
WHEREAS, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Warren Harding on July 9, 1921, the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, provides for the rehabilitation of the native Hawaiian people through a government-sponsored homesteading program; and
WHEREAS, established in 1921 to manage the land trust created by the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, the Hawaiian Homes Commission, a federal agency, became the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, a state agency, after Hawaii became a state in 1959; and
WHEREAS, the mission of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is to enable native Hawaiians to return to their lands in order to fully support self-sufficiency for native Hawaiians, the self-determination of native Hawaiians, and the preservation of the values, traditions, and culture of native Hawaiians through the administration of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands attempts to accomplish this mission through the provision of homestead leases for residential, agricultural, aquacultural, or pastoral purposes thereby providing for the economic self-sufficiency of native Hawaiians through the provision of land; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands administers and manages a revocable permit program, the intent of which is to increase revenues until the land is ready for homestead development, which makes otherwise unused, undeveloped property available to anyone, including non-native Hawaiians, via month-to-month revocable permits; and
WHEREAS, recent news reports have discovered numerous problems, concerns, and issues with the revocable permit program; and
WHEREAS, given these concerns, an official examination of the revocable permit program under the control of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, including verification of accounts, records, contracts, and leases, is warranted; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct an audit of the policies and procedures of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands with regard to the revocable permit program, in particular, the issuance of contracts and commercial leases; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the audit include a review of the policies and procedures of the revocable permit program specifically applicable to koa harvesting and cattle calling in the Pohaku region of the Island of Hawaii; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2015; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Auditor, and Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Requesting the Auditor to conduct an audit of policies and procedures of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands with regard to the revocable permit program, in particular, the issuance of contracts and commercial leases.