Aloha State News

Department of Hawaiian Home Lands issued the following announcement on Dec. 21.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) brought forth a draft  Legislative proposal to the Hawaiian Homes Commission (HHC) on Monday,  December 21, 2020 that could address DHHL’s nearly $200 million annual  budget shortfall.

Item C-1 on HHC’s regularly scheduled December 2020 agenda requests  that the Commission authorize limited casino gaming in the form of a  single integrated resort property in Kapolei, Oʻahu on lands already  designated for commercial use.

Revenues from this initiative would be used to address DHHL’s dire  financial state by ensuring the Department is the primary beneficiary of  the gaming operation through a land lease agreement with the licensee  and direct collection of 80 percent of the proposed state tax on gross  gaming revenue.

DHHL’s proposal establishes a Hawaiʻi Gaming Commission, along with  details that structure the gaming license application, fees, and  criteria for awarding a license. A wagering tax on gross gaming revenue  and a State gaming fund, along with other appropriate funds, are also  established.

The proposed State Gaming Fund is expected to invest in initiatives  to address possible increases in crime, gambling addiction, and other  social issues as well as provide for public security, job training,  traffic improvements, and the administrative expenses of the new Gaming  Commission.

“The  bottom line is that native Hawaiians have been ignored for decades and  this program has been chronically underfunded from the beginning,” said  Deputy to the Chair Tyler Gomes.  “We’ve amended the state constitution,  we’ve tried legislation both at the Federal and State levels, we’ve  sued in the courts, and here we are 100 years later with beneficiaries  still waiting. What we are asking the Commission for today is to allow  for this proposal to go forward to the Legislature for a meaningful  discussion and for the Legislature and the Governor to give us the  opportunity to become financially self-sufficient so we can finally  deliver on the promise made to the Hawaiian people.”

There are currently 28,730 individual native Hawaiians on DHHL’s  Waiting List for a homestead lot. Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules allow  beneficiaries to hold a maximum of two applications, one for a  residential lease and the other for either an agricultural lease or a  pastoral lease. As of June 30, 2020, there are 45,988 lease applications  comprised of applications for residential, agricultural, and pastoral  homesteads.

The infrastructure costs for developing DHHL’s raw landholdings into  land suitable for homesteading averages $150,000 per lot. Lot  development can take between six and eight years to complete after  environmental compliance, archeological requirements, water source  development, permitting, and construction. DHHL has received  record-level funding from the Legislature since 2014, amounting to  roughly $24 million a year for administrative and operational costs and  $25 million for capital improvement projects, but the funding amounts  are still short of the Department’s request of nearly $240 million  annually.

The draft Legislative proposal, upon submission, would be reviewed by  the Department of the Attorney General, the Department of Budget &  Finance, and Governor David Ige for consideration in his Legislative  packet. Should the Governor include the proposed measure in his packet,  the draft Legislation would then proceed to be considered by the Hawaiʻi  State Legislature. If the Governor chooses not to include it in his  packet, the Department may seek a Legislator to introduce the proposal.

The Commissioners are anticipated to vote on the agenda item on  Tuesday, December 22, 2020. HHC meetings are streamed live on DHHL’s  website, dhhl.hawaii.gov/live. The draft legislation can be found under  the Hawaiian Homes Commission’s 2020 Meeting Schedule,  dhhl.hawaii.gov/hhc.

Original source can be found here.