Ceded-land payment leaves issue unresolved
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
A bill providing $9.5 million in ceded land revenue to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is awaiting Gov. Linda Lingle's signature, but controversy about how future payments are determined remains.
The Legislature agreed to tap a variety of state funds to cover payments OHA has not received since the Hawai'i Supreme Court in 2001 struck down the formula for calculating the agency's share. Lingle said she was glad the backpayment measure passed, and plans to approve it.
But House lawmakers this month shelved a bill that would have restored the larger payment formula, minus a provision including money generated by Honolulu airport, which the high court ruled had conflicted with federal law.
Many Hawaiians had angrily objected to plans to change that bill and calculate payments from ceded land leases as if the property were vacant. That would have slashed OHA's annual state revenue from about $9 million to less than $3 million, OHA leaders said.
Some lawmakers have questioned whether the agency should receive money from ceded land without sharing the cost of paying for improvements and upkeep. But OHA leaders say they have no assurance that all ceded land leases are put to best use.
A measure to create a legislative task force with OHA to study those question and other ceded land issues is headed for a final vote.
House Speaker Calvin Say said it was important for lawmakers to become educated about the complexities surrounding ceded land payments before approving a new revenue formula.
The intent is to reach a consensus that avoids the lengthy court battles with OHA that the previous formula led to, he said.
Ceded lands are some 1.8 million acres once controlled by the Hawaiian Kingdom for public purposes or to support the crown. The property was ceded to the United States upon annexation in 1898, then to Hawai'i upon statehood in 1959.
The Legislature determined in 1980 that OHA should receive 20 percent of the money the state earns from ceded land. Lawmakers modified the formula in the 1990 law that the Supreme Court later threw out. OHA administers a variety of programs that benefit Native Hawaiians.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
