Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Oha Legislation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
OHA outlines six-bill legislative package including burial-council fixes and proposed ban on live-fire training
Summary
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs presented a six-measure 2026 legislative package to the Waianae Neighborhood Board that includes changes to island burial councils (HB 2104), a narrower historic-preservation exemption, a new Land Use Commission seat for water-resource expertise, a proposed ban on commercial aquarium collection, a constitutional amendment to bar destructive live-fire military training on public trust lands, and a 3% rent-increase cap proposal.
Summer Silva, interim chief administrator for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, told the Waianae Neighborhood Board the agency’s trustees approved a six-measure legislative package for 2026 that aims to strengthen cultural protections and housing stability for Native Hawaiians.
Silva said one of the first measures, HB 2104, would change how island burial councils operate by allowing quorum requirements to be determined by the number of filled seats and by authorizing stipends for geographically based council members to ease participation barriers. "Only after consultation with recognized lineal and cultural descendants," she said, should decisions about unmarked burials proceed, and the proposed changes are meant to speed decision-making while protecting burial sites.
On historic preservation, Silva said OHA wants the Legislature to narrow an exemption created in 2025 so the State Historic Preservation Division reviews projects likely to disturb burials or sensitive sites before excavation begins. She described the change as a technical "fix" rather than an attempt to reverse prior law.
Silva also urged lawmakers to add a water-resource management expert to the Land Use Commission and to give OHA a consultative role in recommending candidates for the commission’s cultural-expertise seat. "These decisions about who gets seated in these spaces will be informed by our consultation process," she said, describing the proposals as a means to ensure native voices are present during land-use deliberations.
On marine policy, Silva said OHA is advocating for a near‑total ban on commercial aquarium collection, with limited exceptions for educational and subsistence needs, while remaining open to feedback.
Silva described two broader measures: a proposed amendment to the Hawaii Constitution that would bar destructive live-fire military training on public trust lands and a rent-stabilization bill that would cap annual rent increases at 3% with exemptions for owner-occupied properties and regulated affordable housing. "Shall the constitution of the state of Hawaii be amended to provide that no destructive live fire military training shall be conducted on public trust lands as defined in article 12 section 4?" she said the measure would ask voters.
Trust staff said the board’s advocacy team is preparing testimony, sample testimony templates and weekly updates for beneficiaries during the legislative session. Silva and OHA staff invited community feedback and said trustees will vote on official positions as bills move through the Legislature.
The board’s discussion included requests for more accessible bill lists and testifying templates, and OHA staff said HB 2104 would be heard early in the session. The presentation closed with invitations to submit community concerns at future meetings; the board moved on to other agenda items after Q&A.
