Bills that would bar the state from selling or exchanging ceded lands moved out of their first committees in separate actions before the House and Senate yesterday.

So, too, did a bill that would require the approval of two-thirds of both houses of the Legislature before a state administration could sell ceded lands, an idea conceived by Senate majority Democrats.

All the measures, which are still in the early stages of the approval process, are designed to stem an appeal by the Lingle administration to the U.S. Supreme Court of a Hawai'i State Supreme Court ruling that bars the state from selling or transferring ceded lands until claims by Native Hawaiians to those lands are resolved.

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Feb. 25.

During yesterday morning's House Hawaiian Affairs Committee meeting, state Attorney General Mark Bennett reiterated the state's position that it is obligated to reassert that the state has clear and unambiguous ownership to the lands in the wake of the 1993 Apology Resolution passed by the U.S. Congress. That resolution acknowledged the U.S. role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and that Native Hawaiians have unrelinquished claims.

But the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, which brought the original lawsuit against the state for attempting to sell houses and commercial properties on a development on ceded lands, were joined by a variety of Native Hawaiian leaders in testifying that if the state's appeal is successful the consequences could be dire and would create a ripple effect against Native Hawaiian programs.

Many who opposed the state's argument said they were unhappy with the legal analysis by Bennett, who has previously said that Hawaiians may have a moral but not a legal right to the lands.

"If we don't own the land, you don't have the ability to do anything with them," Bennett said, reiterating that the Admission Act giving Hawai'i statehood transmitted the lands for five purposes, two of them being the promotion of home ownership opportunities and benefitting Native Hawaiians.

"We own these lands, the Congress gave them to us."

Even OHA administrator Clyde Namu'o, who usually shows very little emotion, said he now understands why Hawaiians he deals with can get so angry.

"Sitting here today and listening to this discussion, I finally got it," Namu'o said. "This is really way beyond just the legal issues ... this is an issue of fairness and justice. For us to sit here, as Native Hawaiians, and hear that we should just allow all the lands taken from the Native Hawaiians, to now have that validated by the Supreme Court, I find that so troubling."

On the Senate side, the Committee on Water, Land and Hawaiian Affairs passed an amended bill that would have the moratorium in place for a designated five years, allow the sale of remnant lands during that time, and require a two-thirds vote of both legislative houses following the moratorium.

The committee, in a joint session with the Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations, also moved out the Senate majority's bill which does not contain a moratorium but requires a two-thirds vote of both houses before any ceded lands sale or transfer. That bill was opposed by OHA. Bennett offered comments, but took no position on it.

In the House, the Hawaiian Affairs Committee moved out three bills calling for a moratorium and a fourth calling for a two-thirds majority approval for landfills.

Ceded lands are the 1.2 million acres once owned by the Hawaiian government and subsequently taken over by the United States as a result of the 1898 annexation.

The lands were then passed to the state and designated for five purposes, including — but not exclusively limited to — the betterment of Native Hawaiians. They make up the bulk of state-owned lands and are 29 percent of the state's total land area.