OHA trustees debate bylaws language; approve liaison and staffing edits, reject removing 'chief' from administrator title

At its March 20 meeting, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees took up the second reading of proposed revisions to the board bylaws intended to align OHA policy language with Hawaii law and the state Sunshine Law.

Trustees debated several specific edits and voted on amendments. The board approved, by roll call, an amendment to clarify the chairperson’s liaison role as “serve as a primary liaison with elected officials of county, state, and federal governments and other agencies and organizations” (vote: 8 yes). Trustees also voted to add language expanding the board secretary’s duties into the chief of staff’s position description (vote: 8 yes). A separate amendment to remove the word “chief” from the sentence “the administrator shall function as the chief executive officer” failed (vote: 5 yes, 3 no), leaving that phrasing in the draft.

Why it matters: the bylaws are the board’s foundational governance document.…