SB903 revises the Public Land Trust Working Group created in Act 226 (2022) and expands its mandate to more fully examine Hawaii’s public land trust inventory, revenue accounting, and the State’s ongoing obligations to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). The bill recites the historical and legal basis for the public land trust and OHA’s pro rata share, then directs the working group to use independent third-party professionals to evaluate the accuracy and completeness of land inventory data, encumbrance reporting, and financial reporting under Act 178 (2006). It also requires the group to develop a preliminary draft settlement and a final draft settlement regarding the income and proceeds owed from the public land trust.
The bill requires four reports to the Legislature on a set timeline: a first interim inventory report by August 1, 2026; a second interim financial reporting report by December 1, 2026; a preliminary draft settlement by June 1, 2027; and a final report with a final draft settlement by October 1, 2027. It further requires the State, OHA, and other applicable parties to begin preliminary negotiations on the final draft settlement by October 1, 2027. The bill also changes the working group’s membership to include two gubernatorial appointees, three OHA board appointees, one Senate appointee, and one House appointee, and it requires OHA to provide administrative support.
SB903 appropriates $500,000 in each of fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 for the Legislative Reference Bureau to retain independent third-party professionals, but only if OHA provides matching funds. The bill also exempts the LRB’s procurement of those services from chapter 103D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the state procurement code. Although the bill’s operative provisions take effect July 1, 2025 for the appropriation, the rest of the act is set to take effect July 1, 3000, which is a common placeholder date used in some Hawaii bills to avoid automatic near-term enactment.
The bill’s impact on state law is to amend Act 226 and strengthen the statutory framework for evaluating the public land trust, including land inventory accuracy, revenue accounting, and the calculation of OHA’s share. It would not itself set a final payment amount, but it creates a process intended to support a future settlement, potentially involving money, real property, or in-kind assets. It also reinforces reporting duties involving the Department of Land and Natural Resources, other state and county agencies, and the Legislative Reference Bureau.
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill history is supportive and largely unanimous in committee, with the measure passing Senate Hawaiian Affairs and Senate Ways and Means without any recorded opposition. The bill’s tone and findings are strongly pro-accounting and pro-settlement, emphasizing the State’s trust obligations to Native Hawaiians and the need for more reliable data and independent review. The main points of contention implied by the text are not political opposition in the recorded votes, but technical and fiscal concerns: whether current self-reported land and revenue data are complete and accurate, how submerged lands and mixed ceded/nonceded parcels are classified, and whether the proposed $1 million level of third-party review funding and matching-funds requirement are sufficient or workable.
SB903 would amend Act 226 and expand the duties, membership, and reporting obligations of the Public Land Trust Working Group. It would require more detailed review of public land trust inventory data and Act 178 revenue accounting, direct the preparation of settlement proposals for OHA’s pro rata share, and authorize appropriations to the Legislative Reference Bureau for independent consultants. The bill affects the State, OHA, DLNR, county and state land-holding agencies, and any other parties involved in public land trust administration and settlement negotiations.
The bill appears to have strong support in committee, passing Senate Hawaiian Affairs and Senate Ways and Means unanimously and with amendments. The discussion embedded in the bill text is highly favorable toward strengthening Hawaii’s trust accounting and OHA-related obligations, and it frames the measure as a necessary step to resolve long-standing questions about public land trust inventory and revenue distribution. There is no recorded opposition in the provided vote history.
The principal areas of concern are technical and methodological rather than partisan. The bill highlights uncertainty about the completeness of the public land trust information system, reliance on self-reported data, the treatment of parcels that are partly ceded and partly nonceded, missing tax map key numbers, submerged lands, and the exclusion of federal-jurisdiction lands and county revenue reporting from current accounting practices. Another point of practical contention is the cost and structure of the independent review process, including the estimated need for about $1 million, the $500,000 annual appropriations, the requirement for OHA matching funds, and whether the Legislative Reference Bureau can effectively manage the work under the procurement exemption.