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Office of Hawaiian Affairs previews six-bill package including rent-stabilization and live-fire ban
Summary
OHA told Neighborhood Board 34 it will advance six bills in 2026—from burial‑council stipends to a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit live-fire military training on state public‑trust lands—and urged residents to review and sign up for action alerts on OHA's website.
McKenna Woodward, a public-policy advocate with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, told Neighborhood Board 34 that OHA compiled a six-bill legislative package informed by a 600-response public survey and early engagement with trustees and community members.
Woodward gave a short overview of the measures: the package would (1) authorize stipends for Island Burial Council representatives and reform quorum rules to address chronic vacancies; (2) narrow unintended exemptions in recent historic-preservation law changes; (3) require at least one Land Use Commission member have water‑resource expertise; (4) permanently ban commercial aquarium collection while allowing scientific, educational and sustenance take; (5) pursue a constitutional amendment to prohibit destructive live-fire military training on state public‑trust lands (a ballot measure would require a two‑thirds legislative supermajority and voter approval); and (6) create a rent‑stabilization measure that would cap rent increases at 3% within any 12‑month period—not a rent-control program, Woodward said, but an interim measure to provide predictability for tenants.
Woodward encouraged residents to visit OHA’s advocacy page at www.oha.org/advocacy for bill numbers, draft testimony and action alerts. Board members asked clarifying questions about scope; Woodward said the live‑fire amendment would apply only to state public‑trust lands and not lands owned outright by the federal government.
Why it matters: the bills touch land-use protections, resource management and housing affordability—issues cited repeatedly by Kapolei residents. OHA framed the package as responsive to community input and emphasized outreach and available draft testimony for residents who want to provide testimony during the legislative session.
Next steps: OHA will post bill details and sample testimony; community members were invited to sign up for action alerts and submit testimony to legislative committees.
