New laws expand on Hawaiian cultural issues

Among bills Gov. David Ige signed into law Tuesday are measures requiring members of certain councils, boards and commissions to undergo training in Native Hawaiian customs and rights; making it lawful to use human remains for traditional Hawaiian cultural burial practices; and creating a new exception for people without proof of U.S. residency to get driver’s licenses.

Ige signed a bill that expands the Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ popular training programs on Native Hawaiian and Hawaiian traditional and customary rights to include newly appointed members of certain boards, commissions and councils within a year after they’re appointed.

OHA, which the state calls "the principal public agency responsible for ensuring that other state agencies protect Native Hawaiian and Hawaiian rights," has been offering three training courses for state and county officials since 2013 that have been well received and are in demand, according to the bill Ige signed.

OHA, at its own expense, must now come up with new training to be offered twice a year to members of panels that include the state Land Use Commission, Board of Land and Natural Resources, Commission on Water Resource Management, Environmental Council, Agribusiness Development Corp., Board of Agriculture, Legacy Land Conservation Commission, Natural Area Reserve Systems Commission, Hawaii Historic Places Review Board and Board of Health.

In a statement, state Rep. Kani­ela Ing, chairman of the House Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, seemed to reference Native Hawaiian protests over the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea in praising the new training by OHA.

"Harmony among a diverse population and a strong respect for our host culture is what gives Hawaii its reputation of a place of aloha," Ing said. "Some recent controversies have called into question our state’s commitment to Native Hawaiian issues. This measure takes basic steps to ensure that the next generation of public servants will be more knowledgeable of the historical and cultural context of the place for which they are tasked to make decisions. After all, Native Hawaiian issues are everyone’s issues, and everyone’s issues are Native Hawaiian issues."

Ige also signed a bill that "clarifies ambiguities in state law" that ensures that human remains can be released for cultural burial practices without the threat of criminal prosecution.

Leialoha "Rocky" Kalu­hiwa, vice president of the Ko‘o­lau­poko Hawaiian Civic Club, said some mortuaries were concerned they could be violating laws related to the handling of corpses by cremating bodies but releasing bones to family and loved ones for private burial, often on private property.

With the bill that Ige signed into law, Kalu­hiwa said, "You don’t have to worry that you’re breaking the law."

In addition to bills touching on Native Hawaiian issues, Ige also signed into law a measure that makes it easier for undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses.

Elderly residents, the homeless, undocumented immigrants and women, in particular, have been unduly burdened by the federally mandated REAL ID Act of 2005, which requires proof of "lawful presence in the United States" to get a driver’s license, according to the bill that Ige signed into law Tuesday.

Since Hawaii implemented new restrictive driver’s license requirements in 2010, according to the bill, "a significant number of residents have become unable to carry out necessary daily activities unless they operate motor vehicles without a license, and therefore, without insurance."

With Ige’s signature, Hawaii now joins other states in issuing driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status — as long as the applicant can show proof of residency.

"The legislature … finds that the lack of access to driver’s licensure as a result of restrictive identification requirements poses a serious threat to public safety," according to the bill. "Allowing all age-qualifying residents to obtain driver’s licenses will improve public safety by ensuring that all drivers are tested for driving skills and able to acquire motor vehicle insurance."

Driver’s license examiners must now accept a wide range of documentation, including utility bills, rental agreements, foreign school transcripts, current Hawaii voter registration cards, wage stubs issued in the last six months, foreign student identification and foreign driver’s licenses.