Bill Text: HI HR89 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Kuleana Lands; Great Mahele; Property-Tax Exemption;

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-30 - (H) Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Carroll, Herkes, Manahan, Wooley excused (4). [HR89 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-HR89-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	89
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE COUNTIES TO continue RECOGNIZing KULEANA LANDS AS HISTORICAL LANDS and to not TERMINATE OR weaken the property-tax exemptions for Kuleana lands.

 

 

WHEREAS, following the Great Mahele, several thousand native tenants, or makaainana, pursuant to the Kuleana Act of 1850, filed for and were granted title to lands they had occupied and improved; and

 

WHEREAS, while kuleana lands represent a lasting legacy of the Hawaiian monarchy, the escalation of land values in recent times has meant that kuleana land owners often cannot afford the real property taxes assessed against their lands and therefore have been forced to sell their kuleana lands or face tax foreclosure sales; and

 

WHEREAS, in response to these conditions, and after careful consideration and discussion, the City and County of Honolulu, the County of Hawaii, the County of Kauai, and the County of Maui, in recent years, have enacted ordinances granting property tax exemptions for kuleana land; and

 

WHEREAS, these property tax exemptions have resulted in qualified owners of kuleana lands paying a minimal property tax, resulting in enhanced protection of these historic lands and tax relief to the owners; and

 

WHEREAS, the fiscal impact of kuleana land property tax exemptions on county revenues has been minimal as relatively few parcels qualify for an exemption; and

 

WHEREAS, terminating or weakening kuleana land property tax exemptions would reverse the beneficial effects and disrupt kuleana owners' expectations of continuing tax relief; now, therefore,

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, that the counties are urged to not terminate or weaken property tax exemptions for kuleana lands; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor and the Chairperson of the Council of each county, and the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Kuleana Lands; Great Mahele; Property-Tax Exemption;