State pays $9.5 million owed for ceded lands

By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer

Saying that what is good for Hawaiians is good for Hawai'i, Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday signed legislation paying the Office of Hawaiian Affairs $9.5 million in back rent from so-called ceded lands.

OHA Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona and chairman of the House Water, Land Use and Hawaiian Affairs committee, Ezra Kanoho, said the payment was a welcome start, but there is work ahead to resolve how Hawaiians' share of rent from such lands should be calculated.

Kanoho, D-15th (Lihu'e, Koloa), wants officials to meet with the Hawaiian community to discuss the issue before the next legislative session.

OHA has not received payments since 2001, when they were halted by Gov. Ben Cayetano after the Hawai'i Supreme Court struck down a formula to calculate OHA's share.

The court ruled that paying out income generated by Honolulu airport violated federal law.

Ceded lands are 1.8 million acres once held by the Hawaiian Kingdom. The land was ceded to the United States upon annexation in 1898, then to Hawai'i with statehood in 1959.

The Legislature said in 1980 that OHA should get 20 percent of what the state earns from the lands, but changed the formula in 1990.

Reach Walter Wright at wwright@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8054.