OHA staff brief BAE committee on 2025 legislative outcomes; flags bills for monitoring and rulemaking

Office of Hawaiian Affairs staff presented a high-level wrap-up of the 2025 legislative session to the BAE committee on July 23, summarizing major outcomes and identifying bills the agency will monitor during implementation and rulemaking.

The presenter said the OHA budget bill passed with flat funding and that work on an electric-vehicle (EV) working group is ongoing. The presenter identified SB739 as one of the main bills that passed and said OHA had requested that parcels the state acquires in exchange be classified as public land and subject to a 20% designation; the presenter said the bill requires Board of Land and Natural Resources review but does not include the legislative-approval condition OHA requested.

The presentation flagged several policy areas and legislative outcomes: - Land and ceded-lands policy: SB739 passed; OHA will monitor proposals for exchanges and will present testimony to the Board of Land and Natural Resources on parcels of concern. - Environmental and resource protections: a ban on landfills over significant aquifers passed; confirmation of a water commission seat (Hannah Springer) was reported as a notable outcome. - Biosecurity and military contamination: OHA noted a working group will study contamination issues around Schofield and related former military sites; OHA said that work may inform lease negotiations and military renewal discussions. - Housing: the Kahole initiative became a permanent program; a rent-supplement program for kupuna was extended for two years; the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) funding bill did not pass. - Health and social services: telehealth coverage extensions, culturally grounded mental-health programs for youth, and a cancer study tied to community concerns (including Cooley landfill) were highlighted. - Public safety and criminal justice reforms: measures intended to reduce youth placement in adult facilities and to allow trafficking victims to seek law-enforcement help without facing prosecution were noted. - EV and permitting bills: the presenter warned that expedited permitting timelines could produce automatic approvals if agencies miss statutory deadlines and said OHA will monitor implementation. The presenter said OHA is a required consulting party on inventory bills (identified as SB1263 and SP79 in the presentation) and will work to use the inventory systems to protect areas known to contain burial sites.

The presenter also singled out SB66 and SB15 as bills of concern, saying SB66 “is one we’re really concerned about because it basically allows the county to exempt itself from 6 e in certain cases,” and that OHA and other partners plan to monitor implementation and consider next steps.

OHA staff outlined next steps and internal planning: two new advocates will begin on Aug. 1; staff will circulate a draft timeline and bring a formal BAE committee update when the board reconvenes; the office will target early October for review of the OHA legislative package and said it will launch a community survey the following month to gather beneficiary priorities.

Trustees suggested additional outreach, including an open-house for legislators and engagement at community conventions to build consensus before the 2026 session. The transcript records no formal committee votes on policy positions at this meeting; the session was a staff briefing and discussion of strategy and next steps.