Historic $600 million Hawaiian homestead bill becomes law

Gov. David Ige signed a bill Monday that allocates $600 million to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. The funding will support Hawaiian homestead development and will assist DHHL beneficiaries’ housing finances.

“This commitment is the most consequential allocation of funding for the implementation of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in its 100-year history,” said Hawaiian Homes Commission Chair William Alia Jr. in a written statement following the bill’s signing.

The most recent version of the bill which is being signed into law, requires that the funds be spent on lot development, available land or unit purchases, or to give to beneficiaries to use toward existing rent or mortgage payments instead of accepting a homestead.

In April, DHHL had an estimated 9,980 lot lessees but struggled to meet housing needs due to low funding and high infrastructure development costs.

The homestead program, which was inherited by the state in 1959, requires beneficiaries to be at least 50% Hawaiian. The law is expected to dramatically reduce a backlog of about 28,700 beneficiaries waiting for homesteads.

While there are still more needs to be met, Ige said he is proud of the progress DHHL has made over the past several years.

At the bill’s signing, Alia addressed DHHL beneficiaries, asking them to make sure they’d given their updated mailing addresses to the Hawaiian Homes Commission.

“You cannot benefit from the good that’s going to come out from this initiative if we don’t have the ability to contact you,” he said.

Alia noted that the bill’s signing marked the turning of the page from a dark past to a brighter future for Native Hawaiians. Some of his staff are even contemplating putting off retirement because of the historic bill, he said.

State Sen. Jarrett Keoho­kalole (D, Kailua-Kaneohe), vice chair of the Hawaiian Affairs Committee, also attended the bill’s signing.

Allocating these funds was impressive in light of the controversy that has plagued the relationship between Native Hawaiians and the state government, Keohokalole said. The accomplishment also points out the importance of community members engaging and working together to achieve progress, he added.

What happens next with the funding should remain a priority, he said.

“It’s one thing to allot the money; it’s another thing to execute on it. We need all of your support,” he said.

For waitlisted beneficiary Sharon Freitas, the bill’s signing only brought up a multitude of questions.

Freitas questioned things such as the pace at which beneficiary homes were being built, how designated homelands without beneficiaries housed on them were being used, and whether previous fundings were being spent efficiently.

“The 600 million is super hopeful, if they use it for what they say it’s supposed to be used for,” Freitas said.

An analysis by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and ProPublica showed that more than 2,000 DHHL beneficiaries have died while on the homestead waitlist. Freitas estimates that there are more than 10,000 waitlisted ahead of her.

But Blossom Feiteira, a waitlisted beneficiary advocate, has been working with DHHL off and on for about 30 years to help move projects forward through advocacy efforts. Feiteira understands Freitas’ frustrations but remains hopeful.

“Everybody’s looking at the 600 million allocation with a lot of doubt because the department historically has moved very slowly in getting projects up and running and not developed,” she said. “I really think that with this large influx of money, we need to give the department another chance to take a look at how they’re going to deploy this.”

In 2021, DHHL was allocated $73 million for lot development, Feiteira said. There was $40 million given in 2020, $20 million given in 2019 and $10 million given in 2018.

“So when you got an average of $35 (million), $40 million for a hundred-unit subdivision, that kind of money doesn’t play out well,” she explained.

Similarly to Keohokalole, Feiteira hopes that beneficiaries will continue to advocate for putting the money into action.

“With beneficiaries starting to actively participate, finding out what the department needs to see happen, I think we’ll be able to see a lot of forward movement across the state,” she said.