Lawmakers defer DHHL funding bills after hours of testimony on accountability and use of state funds

HONOLULU — Lawmakers in a joint session of the Senate committees on Housing, Public Safety and Military Affairs, and Hawaiian Affairs heard several hours of testimony Tuesday, March 11, on House Bill 606 (HD1), which would extend the Act 279 special fund for the Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL), along with related measures that would change how Hawaiian Home Lands projects use state housing dollars. Committee members deferred decision making to March 18 to allow more information to be provided.

The bills matter because they would affect hundreds of millions in state appropriations and alter how DHHL and related agencies manage and deploy housing funds intended to reduce the DHHL wait list and develop homestead and workforce housing.

Witnesses from beneficiaries, lessees, commissioners and community groups gave sharply divided testimony. Several testifiers urged more funding to address a large DHHL wait list; others criticized DHHL for insufficient transparency and results. Melinda Heilani, representing Kalahoe Hawaii, told the committee, “There are currently 29,000 Hawaiians on the DHHL wait list,” and urged continued appropriations to clear that backlog. Multiple beneficiaries and lessees, including Jermaine Myers…