Hawaiian Homes Commission approves FY2026 budget, amid beneficiary calls for more review

The Hawaiian Homes Commission on June 16 approved the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands fiscal year 2026 administrative and development budgets and authorized limited chair-level reallocation authority for certain funds. The commission also approved transfers of year-end receipt balances into loan funds and authorized a $15 million transfer from the Hawaiian Home Administration account to the operating fund.

Why it matters: The FY2026 approvals set the department's operating and development spending priorities for the coming year and allow DHHL to proceed with planned infrastructure and housing work across the state.

What commissioners approved - The commission approved the FY2026 administrative and operating budget and granted the chair authority to shift funding between cost elements not to exceed the total budget; any chair shifts between cost elements were limited to $500,000. - The commission approved the development budget for FY2026 and permitted carryover of amounts encumbered but not spent in FY2025; the chair was allowed to shift development cost elements not to exceed $1,000,000. - The commission approved a routine transfer of Hawaiian Homes Receipt Fund balances to the Hawaiian Home General Loan Fund (end of fourth quarter transfer) and separately approved transferring $15,000,000 from the Hawaiian Home Administration account into the Hawaiian Home Operating Fund.

Public testimony and beneficiary concerns Several beneficiary leaders asked the commission to delay final budget action to allow more time for review. Evalani (given name in transcript) and other beneficiary leaders told the commission the packet was posted late and that leaders did not have time to vet items before a Monday meeting. Pua Freitas, speaking for a Homestead Beneficiary Association, asked the commission to restore transparency, to justify large contract and professional-services line items (she highlighted $7 million in finance and $5 million in professional services in the packet), and to create a beneficiary budget oversight committee to provide ongoing review of how trust funds are allocated and spent.

Commission response and voting Commissioners discussed whether concerns about the timing of packet release constituted a Sunshine Law violation; the department's legal counsel advised there was not an apparent violation. Commissioner Dennis L. Nevis read a set of development priorities he wanted considered in subsequent supplemental or next-session budget adjustments, and staff said several items raised would be handled in future supplemental proposals. After discussion and public testimony, the commission voted to approve the FY2026 budget and the transfers; the transcript records the motions passing with "motion carried."