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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, March 23, 2008

Settlement over ceded lands looks doubtful

 •  Legislature 2008
Read up on the latest happenings in the Legislature, find out how to contact your lawmakers, and explore other resources.

Compiled by Derrick DePledge and Treena Shapiro

Tomorrow is the 37th day of the 60-day session.

Three state Senate committees voted Monday to kill a proposed $200 million settlement between the state and the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs over ceded crown lands.

The proposed deal negotiated by the Lingle administration would have given OHA three parcels of land worth $187 million, $13 million in cash, and a minimum of $15.1 million annually in exchange for OHA's agreement to waive further claims to income from the land.

Senators said there were questions about whether the $200 million figure was appropriate and whether Native Hawaiians have had enough time to review the possible settlement.

OHA Administrator Clyde Namu'o said agency officials want to talk with House and Senate leaders about still moving a settlement through this session. A version of the settlement is alive in the House.

But several lawmakers are now doubtful about the chances for a settlement this session.

  • 'Opihi protection. The state House Water, Land and Ocean Resources and Hawaiian Affairs Committee moved a bill on Monday that would create a 15-year moratorium on the sale of 'opihi.

    The moratorium would help prevent further overharvesting of the prized delicacy, although some worry it could create a black market for the limpets.

    Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed a permanent ban on 'opihi sales in 2006.

  • Taro protest. The state House Agriculture Committee held a seven-hour hearing Wednesday on a bill that would impose a 10-year moratorium on developing genetically modified taro.

    Native Hawaiian farmers worry that experimenting with modified taro could threaten a plant many Hawaiians consider sacred. Researchers fear a moratorium would undermine attempts to protect taro from insects and diseases.

    Dozens of Native Hawaiians, researchers and others came to the state Capitol for the hearing. About 130 people offered testimony on the bill.

    The committee deferred action on the bill but lawmakers are talking about a potential resolution this session.

    LEARN MORE

  • Check out Capitol Notebook, a blog by The Advertiser's Capitol Bureau, at http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com/capitolnotebook2008.php.

    QUOTE OF THE WEEK

    "We have really good counsel. And we were told we're in compliance with everything."

    — Laura Lott, a Hawai'i Medical Service Association spokeswoman, on HMSA's refusal to turn over its annual government affairs budget to the state's insurance commissioner.

    COMING UP

  • The state Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee holds a hearing at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday on a bill that would allow more than two members of a neighborhood board, but less than a quorum, to attend meetings related to board business.

  • The House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing at 4:10 p.m. Tuesday for decision-making on a bill that would impose extended prison sentences for felony crimes against Good Samaritans.

    Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com and Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.