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OHA trustees approve positions on nine legislative matrices; several bills flagged for follow‑up
Summary
The OHA Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment voted to approve staff recommendations across nine legislative matrices, noting hearings and next steps for several priority bills including an IBC hearing next week, the Ola Hawaii commission bill (HP2046) moving with amended support, and SB3247 (Monaʻala) deferred amid stakeholder concerns.
Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment voted to approve staff‑recommended positions on nine legislative matrices covering OHA priorities in land trust, natural resources, housing, health and education.
Public Policy Manager Deja Ostraki briefed trustees that many House bills in OHA’s package had crossed over to the Senate and that staff were actively filing testimony ahead of imminent deadlines. She said the IBC bill has a Senate hearing scheduled for Tuesday the 24th at 2 p.m., the LUC bill was still awaiting scheduling, and work continued to secure a hearing for an aquarium ban bill that trustees and allies have discussed.
On matrix 2 trustees approved staff recommendations (motion passed, 8‑0) while noting HP2046 — the proposed Ola Hawaii Commission in the governor’s office — had moved from “support with amendments” to “support” and will require OHA attention to determine implications for the agency. On public land trust matters (matrix 3), trustees noted SB20001 (Banyan Drive) was amended to provide lineal descendants a voting slot on a commission but did not add OHA to the Banyan Drive authority. SB2799 (Kalaʻpa) was deferred; staff flagged a carryover vehicle (SB432) as the preferred vehicle.
Staff also highlighted a workforce housing regulatory sandbox bill that now includes OHA in a working group but expands waiver authority; OHA will remain engaged but retain a comment posture pending further review. For historic preservation matters, SB3247 (Monaʻala) was discussed after a recent hearing produced concerns about the bill’s scope and amendments that could increase contested‑case oversight by DNR; the bill was deferred in committee and staff indicated further community consultation is needed.
Where votes were recorded in the committee, most matrices passed unanimously by roll call. Matrix 9 (HRS chapter 6E/historic preservation) passed with seven yes votes and one abstention. The committee concluded with no public testimony under community concerns and adjourned at 10:02 a.m.
Trustees did not adopt new formal policy within the meeting but approved staff positions for each matrix and asked staff to continue tracking hearings and to return with updates as bills move through the Legislature.
