Requesting The Department Of Transportation, In Collaboration With The Department Of Hawaiian Home Lands, To Convene A Working Group To Coordinate Capital Improvement Planning To Reduce Infrastructure Costs For Hawaiian Home Lands Developments.
SCR138 requests that the Department of Transportation, working with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, convene a temporary working group to improve coordination of capital improvement planning for Hawaiian Home Lands developments. The resolution is focused on reducing infrastructure costs by aligning transportation and land-development projects, especially where roads, drainage, grading, water, sewer, electrical, and related work may overlap.
The working group would be chaired by the Director of Transportation and include representatives from DHHL, the Hawaiian Homes Commission, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and other invited experts. It would review five-year project plans, identify overlapping project areas, estimate cost savings from coordinated execution, create an early-notification process, and identify legal or procedural barriers. The group would also recommend administrative or legislative changes and submit a report to the Legislature before the 2027 session, after which it would sunset on June 30, 2027.
Because SCR138 is a concurrent resolution rather than a bill, it does not itself amend the Hawaii Revised Statutes or appropriate funds. Its practical effect would be to direct interagency coordination and produce recommendations that could later lead to administrative changes or future legislation. The resolution primarily affects the Department of Transportation, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the Hawaiian Homes Commission, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, with the goal of improving infrastructure planning for homestead development projects and reducing duplicative public works costs.
The overall sentiment reflected in the resolution is supportive and problem-solving. The measure frames coordinated planning as a necessary response to the high infrastructure costs that have complicated DHHL’s efforts to prepare lots for homestead leases, and it emphasizes efficiency, synchronization, and cost savings. No committee testimony or recorded votes are provided, so there is no documented opposition or amendment debate in the available materials.
The main policy issue underlying the resolution is how to manage infrastructure costs and timing across agencies, particularly where DOT projects may overlap with Hawaiian Home Lands development. Potential points of contention include whether coordination could slow project delivery, how responsibilities and costs should be shared, and whether existing statutes or procedures create barriers that would require legislative change. Another possible area of concern is the inclusion of additional stakeholders and experts, which may raise questions about scope, authority, and implementation, but no specific opposition is shown in the available record.