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Panel backs working group to review burial‑sites program; OHA annual report request and DHHL water pilot advance
Summary
The Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs voted to convene a broad working group to examine the island burial‑sites program and adopted a request for an OHA annual report; the committee also passed a DHHL water‑access pilot measure and deferred several other related items.
The Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs on April 1 advanced a proposal to convene a large working group to review burial‑sites management, asked the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to provide an annual report to the Legislature, approved a Department of Hawaiian Home Lands water‑access pilot project request, and deferred several other measures for further work.
Why it matters: The working group and the OHA report are intended to address longstanding community concerns about the administration, staffing and resourcing of island burial councils and the State's burial‑sites program. The measures could lead to statutory and operational changes affecting how iwi kūpuna and burial sites are managed statewide.
Committee action and testimony: OHA representatives told the committee the agency supports a transparent review and offered to provide a phase‑2 due‑diligence report and a community outreach plan. Lena Alale (OHA) said OHA had board approval to prepare a detailed report and expected to deliver it by the end of the summer. The committee accepted…
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