Editorial: Department of Hawaiian Home Lands’ deadline problem

When the Legislature approved a historic $600 million for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) in 2022, it hoped to accomplish two major goals: increase the number of homesteads ready and available to Native Hawaiians, and reduce the backlog of more than 28,000 beneficiaries on the waitlist.

Act 279 also included a three-year deadline: If the $600 million was not fully encumbered by June 30, 2025, what’s left of the money would revert to the state general fund.

It was an appropriate stick to accompany the carrot. DHHL’s long history of inertia and slower-than-molasses bureaucracy has left many beneficiaries in limbo; too many have died waiting for their birthright. And time is money. The longer it takes to develop homes, the more expensive it gets.

Now DHHL wants the Legislature to extend the deadline to an undefined future date. The rationale is questionable, and lawmakers should be wary of removing the stick, at least for now.

Lehua Kinilau-Cano, a DHHL government relations manager, said if the state doesn’t spend enough on education in relation to other state spending, it stands to lose as much as $412 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds — which could happen if DHHL encumbers more than $172 million and spends more than $50 million by June 30. But spending less now would make it difficult to spend the rest of the $600 million by the end of the third fiscal year — hence the need for the extension.

It’s not clear why, among all the state’s agencies, DHHL’s beneficiaries must take the hit. It’s also not clear why this problem wasn’t anticipated and addressed well before the Hawaiian Homes Commission voted on Tuesday to seek the extension.

Of course, it is possible that DHHL simply is ill-equipped to plan and allocate the $600 million to meet the deadline, regardless of the ARPA problem. It’s also possible that Gov. Josh Green and his designated DHHL director, Ikaika Anderson, have sound reasons to tweak a strategic plan drawn up by the previous DHHL administration to use the entire $600 million within three years.

That plan, largely supported by the commission, includes some promising initiatives, such as expanding ways to get Hawaiians into homes through individual assistance programs and rental opportunities.

Lawmakers may end up extending DHHL’s deadline. But if so, any new deadline should be fixed, for good reason and with clear expectations and benchmarks.