Native Hawaiians opposed to ultralong state land leases elevated a campaign Friday to convince Gov. David Ige to veto a bill that would allow leases to stretch over a century.

A group of demonstrators sang mele aloha aina, or songs of the land, outside Washington Place in the evening following an afternoon sign- waving rally in front of the property fronting Beretania Street mauka of the state Capitol.

An estimated 300 people gathered for the afternoon event to combat House Bill 499, which would allow tenants on state-owned public land to extend existing leases by up to 40 years in return for investing in the property, which would avoid the usual practice of having to compete for a new lease awarded to a high bidder.

In many instances, existing 65-year leases could become 105-year leases if the bill becomes law and the state Board of Land and Natural Resources approves requested extensions.

“This is our aina,” said Steve Costa, referring to land that once belonged to the Hawaiian Kingdom. “These lands belong to our people. This bill is hewa (wrong).”

Costa, a Hawaiian archdeacon of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii, participated in a news conference Friday ahead of the rally and urged Ige to veto the bill.

“We beg you, Gov. Ige and the powers that be, please veto HB 499,” he said.

Healani Sonoda-Pale, chairwoman of the Ka Lahui Hawaii political action committee, said 40-year lease extensions would provide “pseudo ownership” for tenants and prevent potentially better uses and higher rental rates for land that in many cases require a portion of revenue be delivered to the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs for the benefit of Hawaiians.

“One-hundred-year-long leases is longer than most people’s lifetime,” she said.

HB 499 would give BLNR the power to extend leases for up to 40 years if tenants make major property improvements — defined as costing at least 30% of what existing facilities on the land are worth — and agree to revised rent based on appraised land value.

If Ige enables the bill to become law, lessees of public land statewide, which include businesses at airports, harbors, industrial parks and other places as well as government entities other than the University of Hawaii, potentially can put off competition for land they lease.

While pending at the Legislature, the bill drew heavy opposition from Hawaiian cultural groups, the Hawaiian Affairs Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., OHA, the Sierra Club of Hawaii and more than 140 individuals who urged lawmakers in written testimony to kill the bill.

“This bill normalizes the idea that corporations and military interests should be able to continue holding onto and benefiting from our public lands indefinitely, with no opportunity for future generations to reassess what these limited lands should be used for, or who else should be entitled to use them,” Marti Townsend, Sierra Club of Hawaii chapter director, said Friday in a statement.

Supporters of the bill included several commercial lessees of public lands and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

DLNR historically favored seeking competitive bids open to the public when land leases expired, but more recently has taken a position that retaining good lessees is in the state’s best interest.

HB 499 was passed with significant division among lawmakers with votes of 36-15 in the House and 16-9 in the Senate.

Since the bill passed, organizers opposing the bill held three demonstrations in the Capitol District before Friday’s event.

Sonoda-Pale said she and other Hawaiian and environmental leaders were able to discuss their concerns with Ige earlier this week via a Zoom conference call, but she has no inclination of what the governor will do.

“He was very open, very understanding to the issues that we brought forth,” she said. “But of course we want to keep the pressure on.”

Jodi Leong, a spokeswoman for the governor, said all bills submitted to Ige are undergoing a usual legal, policy and departmental review.

Ige has until June 21 to indicate whether he intends to veto specific bills, followed by a July 6 deadline to act.