IB

Union Calendar No. 541

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4904

[Report No. 106–897]

To express the policy of the United States regarding the United States

relationship with Native Hawaiians, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 20, 2000

Mr. ABERCROMBIE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

SEPTEMBER 26, 2000

Additional sponsor: Mr. KILDEE

SEPTEMBER 26, 2000

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 20, 2000]

A BILL

To express the policy of the United States regarding the

United States relationship with Native Hawaiians, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) The Constitution vests Congress with the au4 thority to address the conditions of the indigenous,

5 native people of the United States.

6 (2) Native Hawaiians, the native people of the

7 Hawaiian archipelago which is now part of the

8 United States, are indigenous, native people of the

9 United States.

10 (3) The United States has a special trust rela11 tionship to promote the welfare of the native people

12 of the United States, including Native Hawaiians.

13 (4) Under the treatymaking power of the United

14 States, Congress exercised its constitutional authority

15 to confirm a treaty between the United States and the

16 government that represented the Hawaiian people,

17 and from 1826 until 1893, the United States recog18 nized the independence of the Kingdom of Hawaii, ex19 tended full diplomatic recognition to the Hawaiian

20 government, and entered into treaties and conventions

21 with the Hawaiian monarchs to govern commerce and

22 navigation in 1826, 1842, 1849, 1875, and 1887.

23 (5) Pursuant to the provisions of the Hawaiian

24 Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter

25 42), the United States set aside 203,500 acres of land

26 in the Federal territory that later became the State of
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1 Hawaii to address the conditions of Native Hawai2 ians.

3 (6) By setting aside 203,500 acres of land for

4 Native Hawaiian homesteads and farms, the Act as5 sists the Native Hawaiian community in maintain6 ing distinct native settlements throughout the State of

7 Hawaii.

8 (7) Approximately 6,800 Native Hawaiian les9 sees and their family members reside on Hawaiian

10 Home Lands and approximately 18,000 Native Ha11 waiians who are eligible to reside on the Home Lands

12 are on a waiting list to receive assignments of land.

13 (8) In 1959, as part of the compact admitting

14 Hawaii into the United States, Congress established

15 the Ceded Lands Trust for 5 purposes, 1 of which is

16 the betterment of the conditions of Native Hawaiians.

17 Such trust consists of approximately 1,800,000 acres

18 of land, submerged lands, and the revenues derived

19 from such lands, the assets of which have never been

20 completely inventoried or segregated.

21 (9) Throughout the years, Hawaiians have re22 peatedly sought access to the Ceded Lands Trust and

23 its resources and revenues in order to establish and

24 maintain native settlements and distinct native com25 munities throughout the State.
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1 (10) The Hawaiian Home Lands and the Ceded

2 Lands provide an important foundation for the abil3 ity of the Native Hawaiian community to maintain

4 the practice of Native Hawaiian culture, language,

5 and traditions, and for the survival of the Native Ha6 waiian people.

7 (11) Native Hawaiians have maintained other

8 distinctly native areas in Hawaii.

9 (12) On November 23, 1993, Public Law 103–

10 150 (107 Stat. 1510) (commonly known as the Apol11 ogy Resolution) was enacted into law, extending an

12 apology on behalf of the United States to the Native

13 people of Hawaii for the United States role in the

14 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

15 (13) The Apology Resolution acknowledges that

16 the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii occurred

17 with the active participation of agents and citizens of

18 the United States and further acknowledges that the

19 Native Hawaiian people never directly relinquished

20 their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people

21 over their national lands to the United States, either

22 through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or ref23 erendum.

24 (14) The Apology Resolution expresses the com25 mitment of Congress and the President to acknowledge
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1 the ramifications of the overthrow of the Kingdom of

2 Hawaii and to support reconciliation efforts between

3 the United States and Native Hawaiians; and to have

4 Congress and the President, through the President’s

5 designated officials, consult with Native Hawaiians

6 on the reconciliation process as called for under the

7 Apology Resolution.

8 (15) Despite the overthrow of the Hawaiian gov9 ernment, Native Hawaiians have continued to main10 tain their separate identity as a distinct native com11 munity through the formation of cultural, social, and

12 political institutions, and to give expression to their

13 rights as native people to self-determination and self14 governance as evidenced through their participation

15 in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

16 (16) Native Hawaiians also maintain a distinct

17 Native Hawaiian community through the provision of

18 governmental services to Native Hawaiians, including

19 the provision of health care services, educational pro20 grams, employment and training programs, children’s

21 services, conservation programs, fish and wildlife pro22 tection, agricultural programs, native language im23 mersion instruction, and traditional justice programs,

24 and by continuing their efforts to enhance Native Ha25 waiian self-determination and local control.
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1 (17) Native Hawaiians are actively engaged in

2 Native Hawaiian cultural practices, traditional agri3 cultural methods, fishing and subsistence practices,

4 maintenance of cultural use areas and sacred sites,

5 protection of burial sites, and the exercise of their tra6 ditional rights to gather medicinal plants and herbs,

7 and food sources.

8 (18) The Native Hawaiian people wish to pre9 serve, develop, and transmit to future Native Hawai10 ian generations their ancestral lands and Native Ha11 waiian political and cultural identity in accordance

12 with their traditions, beliefs, customs and practices,

13 language, and social and political institutions, and to

14 achieve greater self-determination over their own af15 fairs.

16 (19) This Act provides for a process within the

17 framework of Federal law for the Native Hawaiian

18 people to exercise their inherent rights as a distinct

19 aboriginal, indigenous, native community to reorga20 nize a Native Hawaiian government for the purpose

21 of giving expression to their rights as native people

22 to self-determination and self-governance.

23 (20) The United States has declared that—
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1 (A) the United States has a special respon2 sibility for the welfare of the native peoples of the

3 United States, including Native Hawaiians;

4 (B) Congress has identified Native Hawai5 ians as a distinct indigenous group within the

6 scope of its Indian affairs power, and has en7 acted dozens of statutes on their behalf pursuant

8 to its recognized trust responsibility; and

9 (C) Congress has also delegated broad au10 thority to administer a portion of the Federal

11 trust responsibility to the State of Hawaii.

12 (21) The United States has recognized and re13 affirmed the special trust relationship with the Native

14 Hawaiian people through—

15 (A) the enactment of the Act entitled ‘‘An

16 Act to provide for the admission of the State of

17 Hawaii into the Union’’, approved March 18,

18 1959 (Public Law 86–3; 73 Stat. 4) by—

19 (i) ceding to the State of Hawaii title

20 to the public lands formerly held by the

21 United States, and mandating that those

22 lands be held in public trust for the better23 ment of the conditions of Native Hawaiians;

24 and
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1 (ii) transferring the United States re2 sponsibility for the administration of the

3 Hawaiian Home Lands to the State of Ha4 waii, but retaining the authority to enforce

5 the trust, including the exclusive right of the

6 United States to consent to any actions af7 fecting the lands which comprise the corpus

8 of the trust and any amendments to the Ha9 waiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42

10 Stat. 108, chapter 42) that are enacted by

11 the legislature of the State of Hawaii affect12 ing the beneficiaries under the Act.

13 (22) The United States continually has recog14 nized and reaffirmed that—

15 (A) Native Hawaiians have a cultural, his16 toric, and land-based link to the aboriginal, na17 tive people who exercised sovereignty over the

18 Hawaiian Islands;

19 (B) Native Hawaiians have never relin20 quished their claims to sovereignty or their sov21 ereign lands;

22 (C) the United States extends services to

23 Native Hawaiians because of their unique status

24 as the aboriginal, native people of a once sov-
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1 ereign nation with whom the United States has

2 a political and legal relationship; and

3 (D) the special trust relationship of Amer4 ican Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Ha5 waiians to the United States arises out of their

6 status as aboriginal, indigenous, native people of

7 the United States.

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

9 In this Act:

10 (1) ABORIGINAL, INDIGENOUS, NATIVE PEO11 PLE.—The term ‘‘aboriginal, indigenous, native peo12 ple’’ means those people whom Congress has recog13 nized as the original inhabitants of the lands and

14 who exercised sovereignty prior to European contact

15 in the areas that later became part of the United

16 States.

17 (2) ADULT MEMBERS.—The term ‘‘adult mem18 bers’’ means those Native Hawaiians who have at19 tained the age of 18 at the time the Commission pub20 lishes the final roll, as provided in section 7(a)(3) of

21 this Act.

22 (3) APOLOGY RESOLUTION.—The term ‘‘Apology

23 Resolution’’ means Public Law 103–150 (107 Stat.

24 1510), a joint resolution offering an apology to Native

25 Hawaiians on behalf of the United States for the par-
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1 ticipation of agents of the United States in the Janu2 ary 17, 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

3 (4) CEDED LANDS.—The term ‘‘ceded lands’’

4 means those lands which were ceded to the United

5 States by the Republic of Hawaii under the Joint

6 Resolution to provide for annexing the Hawaiian Is7 lands to the United States of July 7, 1898 (30 Stat.

8 750), and which were later transferred to the State of

9 Hawaii in the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the

10 admission of the State of Hawaii into the Union’’ ap11 proved March 18, 1959 (Public Law 86–3; 73 Stat.

12 4).

13 (5) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

14 means the commission established in section 7 of this

15 Act to certify that the adult members of the Native

16 Hawaiian community contained on the roll developed

17 under that section meet the definition of Native Ha18 waiian, as defined in paragraph (7)(A).

19 (6) INDIGENOUS, NATIVE PEOPLE.—The term

20 ‘‘indigenous, native people’’ means the lineal descend21 ants of the aboriginal, indigenous, native people of the

22 United States.

23 (7) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—

24 (A) Prior to the recognition by the United

25 States of a Native Hawaiian government under
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1 the authority of section 7(d)(2) of this Act, the

2 term ‘‘Native Hawaiian’’ means the indigenous,

3 native people of Hawaii who are the lineal de4 scendants of the aboriginal, indigenous, native

5 people who resided in the islands that now com6 prise the State of Hawaii on or before January

7 1, 1893, and who occupied and exercised sov8 ereignty in the Hawaiian archipelago, including

9 the area that now constitutes the State of Ha10 waii, and includes all Native Hawaiians who

11 were eligible in 1921 for the programs authorized

12 by the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (42

13 Stat. 108, chapter 42) and their lineal descend14 ants.

15 (B) Following the recognition by the United

16 States of the Native Hawaiian government under

17 section 7(d)(2) of this Act, the term ‘‘Native Ha18 waiian’’ shall have the meaning given to such

19 term in the organic governing documents of the

20 Native Hawaiian government.

21 (8) NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT.—The term

22 ‘‘Native Hawaiian government’’ means the citizens of

23 the government of the Native Hawaiian people that is

24 recognized by the United States under the authority

25 of section 7(d)(2) of this Act.
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1 (9) NATIVE HAWAIIAN INTERIM GOVERNING

2 COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Native Hawaiian Interim Gov3 erning Council’’ means the interim governing council

4 that is organized under section 7(c) of this Act.

5 (10) ROLL.—The term ‘‘roll’’ means the roll that

6 is developed under the authority of section 7(a) of this

7 Act.

8 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

9 the Secretary of the Department of the Interior.

10 (12) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Task Force’’

11 means the Native Hawaiian Interagency Task Force

12 established under the authority of section 6 of this

13 Act.

14 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY AND PURPOSE.

15 (a) POLICY.—The United States reaffirms that—

16 (1) Native Hawaiians are a unique and distinct

17 aboriginal, indigenous, native people, with whom the

18 United States has a political and legal relationship;

19 (2) the United States has a special trust rela20 tionship to promote the welfare of Native Hawaiians;

21 (3) Congress possesses the authority under the

22 Constitution to enact legislation to address the condi23 tions of Native Hawaiians and has exercised this au24 thority through the enactment of—
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1 (A) the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act,

2 1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42);

3 (B) the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for

4 the admission of the State of Hawaii into the

5 Union’’, approved March 18, 1959 (Public Law

6 86–3; 73 Stat. 4); and

7 (C) more than 150 other Federal laws ad8 dressing the conditions of Native Hawaiians;

9 (4) Native Hawaiians have—

10 (A) an inherent right to autonomy in their

11 internal affairs;

12 (B) an inherent right of self-determination

13 and self-governance;

14 (C) the right to reorganize a Native Hawai15 ian government; and

16 (D) the right to become economically self17 sufficient; and

18 (5) the United States shall continue to engage in

19 a process of reconciliation and political relations with

20 the Native Hawaiian people.

21 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the intent of Congress that the

22 purpose of this Act is to provide a process for the reorga23 nization of a Native Hawaiian government and for the rec24 ognition by the United States of the Native Hawaiian gov-
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1 ernment for purposes of continuing a government-to-govern2 ment relationship.

3 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OFFICE

4 FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the Of6 fice of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior the

7 United States Office for Native Hawaiian Affairs.

8 (b) DUTIES OF THE OFFICE.—The United States Of9 fice for Native Hawaiian Affairs shall—

10 (1) effectuate and coordinate the special trust re11 lationship between the Native Hawaiian people and

12 the United States through the Secretary, and with all

13 other Federal agencies;

14 (2) upon the recognition of the Native Hawaiian

15 government by the United States as provided for in

16 section 7(d)(2) of this Act, effectuate and coordinate

17 the special trust relationship between the Native Ha18 waiian government and the United States through the

19 Secretary, and with all other Federal agencies;

20 (3) fully integrate the principle and practice of

21 meaningful, regular, and appropriate consultation

22 with the Native Hawaiian people by providing timely

23 notice to, and consulting with the Native Hawaiian

24 people prior to taking any actions that may affect

25 traditional or current Native Hawaiian practices and
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1 matters that may have the potential to significantly

2 or uniquely affect Native Hawaiian resources, rights,

3 or lands, and upon the recognition of the Native Ha4 waiian government as provided for in section 7(d)(2)

5 of this Act, fully integrate the principle and practice

6 of meaningful, regular, and appropriate consultation

7 with the Native Hawaiian government by providing

8 timely notice to, and consulting with the Native Ha9 waiian people and the Native Hawaiian government

10 prior to taking any actions that may have the poten11 tial to significantly affect Native Hawaiian resources,

12 rights, or lands;

13 (4) consult with the Native Hawaiian Inter14 agency Task Force, other Federal agencies, and with

15 relevant agencies of the State of Hawaii on policies,

16 practices, and proposed actions affecting Native Ha17 waiian resources, rights, or lands;

18 (5) be responsible for the preparation and sub19 mittal to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Sen20 ate, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

21 of the Senate, and the Committee on Resources of the

22 House of Representatives of an annual report detail23 ing the activities of the Interagency Task Force estab24 lished under section 6 of this Act that are undertaken

25 with respect to the continuing process of reconcili-
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1 ation and to effect meaningful consultation with the

2 Native Hawaiian people and the Native Hawaiian

3 government and providing recommendations for any

4 necessary changes to existing Federal statutes or regu5 lations promulgated under the authority of Federal

6 law;

7 (6) be responsible for continuing the process of

8 reconciliation with the Native Hawaiian people, and

9 upon the recognition of the Native Hawaiian govern10 ment by the United States as provided for in section

11 7(d)(2) of this Act, be responsible for continuing the

12 process of reconciliation with the Native Hawaiian

13 government; and

14 (7) assist the Native Hawaiian people in facili15 tating a process for self-determination, including but

16 not limited to the provision of technical assistance in

17 the development of the roll under section 7(a) of this

18 Act, the organization of the Native Hawaiian Interim

19 Governing Council as provided for in section 7(c) of

20 this Act, and the recognition of the Native Hawaiian

21 government as provided for in section 7(d) of this Act.

22 (c) AUTHORITY.—The United States Office for Native

23 Hawaiian Affairs is authorized to enter into a contract

24 with or make grants for the purposes of the activities au-
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1 thorized or addressed in section 7 of this Act for a period

2 of 3 years from the date of enactment of this Act.

3 SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REP4 RESENTATIVE.

5 The Attorney General shall designate an appropriate

6 official within the Department of Justice to assist the

7 United States Office for Native Hawaiian Affairs in the

8 implementation and protection of the rights of Native Ha9 waiians and their political, legal, and trust relationship

10 with the United States, and upon the recognition of the Na11 tive Hawaiian government as provided for in section

12 7(d)(2) of this Act, in the implementation and protection

13 of the rights of the Native Hawaiian government and its

14 political, legal, and trust relationship with the United

15 States.

16 SEC. 6. NATIVE HAWAIIAN INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inter18 agency task force to be known as the ‘‘Native Hawaiian

19 Interagency Task Force’’.

20 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall be composed

21 of officials, to be designated by the President, from—

22 (1) each Federal agency that establishes or im23 plements policies that affect Native Hawaiians or

24 whose actions may significantly or uniquely impact

25 on Native Hawaiian resources, rights, or lands;
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1 (2) the United States Office for Native Hawaiian

2 Affairs established under section 4 of this Act; and

3 (3) the Executive Office of the President.

4 (c) LEAD AGENCIES.—The Department of the Interior

5 and the Department of Justice shall serve as the lead agen6 cies of the Task Force, and meetings of the Task Force shall

7 be convened at the request of the lead agencies.

8 (d) CO-CHAIRS.—The Task Force representative of the

9 United States Office for Native Hawaiian Affairs estab10 lished under the authority of section 4 of this Act and the

11 Attorney General’s designee under the authority of section

12 5 of this Act shall serve as co-chairs of the Task Force.

13 (e) DUTIES.—The primary responsibilities of the Task

14 Force shall be—

15 (1) the coordination of Federal policies that af16 fect Native Hawaiians or actions by any agency or

17 agencies of the Federal Government which may sig18 nificantly or uniquely impact on Native Hawaiian

19 resources, rights, or lands;

20 (2) to assure that each Federal agency develops

21 a policy on consultation with the Native Hawaiian

22 people, and upon recognition of the Native Hawaiian

23 government by the United States as provided in sec24 tion 7(d)(2) of this Act, consultation with the Native

25 Hawaiian government; and
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1 (3) to assure the participation of each Federal

2 agency in the development of the report to Congress

3 authorized in section 4(b)(5) of this Act.

4 SEC. 7. PROCESS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A ROLL FOR

5 THE ORGANIZATION OF A NATIVE HAWAIIAN

6 INTERIM GOVERNING COUNCIL, FOR THE OR7 GANIZATION OF A NATIVE HAWAIIAN IN8 TERIM GOVERNING COUNCIL AND A NATIVE

9 HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT, AND FOR THE REC10 OGNITION OF THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOV11 ERNMENT.

12 (a) ROLL.—

13 (1) PREPARATION OF ROLL.—The United States

14 Office for Native Hawaiian Affairs shall assist the

15 adult members of the Native Hawaiian community

16 who wish to participate in the reorganization of a

17 Native Hawaiian government in preparing a roll for

18 the purpose of the organization of a Native Hawaiian

19 Interim Governing Council. The roll shall include the

20 names of the adult members of the Native Hawaiian

21 community who wish to become citizens of a Native

22 Hawaiian government and who are—

23 (A) the lineal descendants of the aboriginal,

24 indigenous, native people who resided in the is25 lands that now comprise the State of Hawaii on
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1 or before January 1, 1893, and who occupied

2 and exercised sovereignty in the Hawaiian ar3 chipelago; or

4 (B) Native Hawaiians who were eligible in

5 1921 for the programs authorized by the Hawai6 ian Homes Commission Act (42 Stat. 108, chap7 ter 42) or their lineal descendants.

8 (2) CERTIFICATION AND SUBMISSION.—

9 (A) COMMISSION.—

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized

11 to be established a Commission to be com12 posed of 9 members for the purpose of certi13 fying that the adult members of the Native

14 Hawaiian community on the roll meet the

15 definition of Native Hawaiian, as defined

16 in section 2(7)(A) of this Act.

17 (ii) MEMBERSHIP.—

18 (I) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary

19 shall appoint the members of the Com20 mission in accordance with subclause

21 (II).

22 (II) REQUIREMENTS.—The mem23 bers of the Commission shall be Native

24 Hawaiian, as defined in section

25 2(7)(A) of this Act, and shall have ex-
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1 pertise in the certification of Native

2 Hawaiian ancestry.

3 (III) CONGRESSIONAL SUBMIS4 SION OF SUGGESTED CANDIDATES.—In

5 appointing members of the Commis6 sion, the Secretary may choose such

7 members from among—

8 (aa) five suggested candidates

9 submitted by the majority leader

10 of the Senate and the minority

11 leader of the Senate from a list of

12 candidates provided to such lead13 ers by the chairman and vice

14 chairman of the Committee on In15 dian Affairs of the Senate; and

16 (bb) four suggested can17 didates submitted by the Speaker

18 of the House of Representatives

19 and the minority leader of the

20 House of Representatives from a

21 list provided to the Speaker and

22 the minority leader by the chair23 man and ranking member of the

24 Committee on Resources of the

25 House of Representatives.
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1 (B) CERTIFICATION.—The Commission shall

2 certify that the individuals listed on the roll de3 veloped under the authority of this subsection are

4 Native Hawaiians, as defined in section 2(7)(A)

5 of this Act.

6 (3) PUBLICATION OF FINAL ROLL.—The Commis7 sion shall publish a final roll.

8 (4) EFFECT OF PUBLICATION.—The publication

9 of the final roll shall serve as the basis for the eligi10 bility of adult members listed on the roll to partici11 pate in all referenda and elections associated with the

12 organization of a Native Hawaiian Interim Gov13 erning Council and the Native Hawaiian government.

14 (b) RECOGNITION OF RIGHTS.—The right of the Native

15 Hawaiian people to organize for their common welfare and

16 to adopt appropriate organic governing documents is here17 by recognized by the United States.

18 (c) ORGANIZATION OF THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN IN19 TERIM GOVERNING COUNCIL.—

20 (1) ORGANIZATION.—The adult members listed

21 on the roll developed under the authority of subsection

22 (a) are authorized to—

23 (A) develop criteria for candidates to be

24 elected to serve on the Native Hawaiian Interim

25 Governing Council;
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1 (B) determine the structure of the Native

2 Hawaiian Interim Governing Council; and

3 (C) elect members to the Native Hawaiian

4 Interim Governing Council.

5 (2) ELECTION.—Upon the request of the adult

6 members listed on the roll developed under the author7 ity of subsection (a), the United States Office for Na8 tive Hawaiian Affairs may assist the Native Hawai9 ian community in holding an election by secret ballot

10 (absentee and mail balloting permitted), to elect the

11 membership of the Native Hawaiian Interim Gov12 erning Council.

13 (3) POWERS.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Native Hawaiian

15 Interim Governing Council is authorized to rep16 resent those on the roll in the implementation of

17 this Act and shall have no powers other than

18 those given to it in accordance with this Act.

19 (B) FUNDING.—The Native Hawaiian In20 terim Governing Council is authorized to enter

21 into a contract or grant with any Federal agen22 cy, including but not limited to, the United

23 States Office for Native Hawaiian Affairs within

24 the Department of the Interior and the Adminis25 tration for Native Americans within the Depart-
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1 ment of Health and Human Services, to carry

2 out the activities set forth in subparagraph (C).

3 (C) ACTIVITIES.—

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Native Hawai5 ian Interim Governing Council is author6 ized to conduct a referendum of the adult

7 members listed on the roll developed under

8 the authority of subsection (a) for the pur9 pose of determining (but not limited to) the

10 following:

11 (I) The proposed elements of the

12 organic governing documents of a Na13 tive Hawaiian government.

14 (II) The proposed powers and au15 thorities to be exercised by a Native

16 Hawaiian government, as well as the

17 proposed privileges and immunities of

18 a Native Hawaiian government.

19 (III) The proposed civil rights

20 and protection of such rights of the

21 citizens of a Native Hawaiian govern22 ment and all persons subject to the au23 thority of a Native Hawaiian govern24 ment.
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1 (ii) DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC GOV2 ERNING DOCUMENTS.—Based upon the ref3 erendum, the Native Hawaiian Interim

4 Governing Council is authorized to develop

5 proposed organic governing documents for a

6 Native Hawaiian government.

7 (iii) DISTRIBUTION.—The Native Ha8 waiian Interim Governing Council is au9 thorized to distribute to all adult members

10 of those listed on the roll, a copy of the pro11 posed organic governing documents, as

12 drafted by the Native Hawaiian Interim

13 Governing Council, along with a brief im14 partial description of the proposed organic

15 governing documents.

16 (iv) CONSULTATION.—The Native Ha17 waiian Interim Governing Council is au18 thorized to freely consult with those mem19 bers listed on the roll concerning the text

20 and description of the proposed organic gov21 erning documents.

22 (D) ELECTIONS.—

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Native Hawai24 ian Interim Governing Council is author25 ized to hold elections for the purpose of rati-
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1 fying the proposed organic governing docu2 ments.

3 (ii) ASSISTANCE.—Upon the request of

4 the Native Hawaiian Interim Governing

5 Council, the United States Office of Native

6 Hawaiian Affairs may assist the Council in

7 conducting such elections.

8 (4) TERMINATION.—The Native Hawaiian In9 terim Governing Council shall have no power or au10 thority under this Act after the time at which the

11 duly elected officers of the Native Hawaiian govern12 ment take office.

13 (d) RECOGNITION OF THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERN14 MENT.—

15 (1) PROCESS FOR RECOGNITION.—

16 (A) SUBMITTAL OF ORGANIC GOVERNING

17 DOCUMENTS.—The duly elected officers of the

18 Native Hawaiian government shall submit the

19 organic governing documents of the Native Ha20 waiian government to the Secretary.

21 (B) CERTIFICATIONS.—The Secretary shall

22 certify that the organic governing documents—

23 (i) were adopted by a majority vote of

24 the adult members listed on the roll pre25 pared under the authority of subsection (a);
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1 (ii) are consistent with applicable Fed2 eral law and the special trust relationship

3 between the United States and the native

4 people of the United States;

5 (iii) provide for the exercise of those

6 governmental authorities that are recognized

7 by the United States as the powers and au8 thorities that are exercised by other govern9 ments representing the indigenous, native

10 people of the United States;

11 (iv) provide for the protection of the

12 civil rights of the citizens of the Native Ha13 waiian government and all persons subject

14 to the authority of the Native Hawaiian

15 government, and to assure that the Native

16 Hawaiian government exercises its author17 ity consistent with the requirements of sec18 tion 202 of the Act of April 11, 1968 (25

19 U.S.C. 1302);

20 (v) prevent the sale, disposition, lease,

21 or encumbrance of lands, interests in lands,

22 or other assets of the Native Hawaiian gov23 ernment without the consent of the Native

24 Hawaiian government;
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1 (vi) establish the criteria for citizen2 ship in the Native Hawaiian government;

3 and

4 (vii) provide authority for the Native

5 Hawaiian government to negotiate with

6 Federal, State, and local governments, and

7 other entities.

8 (C) FAILURE TO ACT.—If the Secretary

9 fails to act within 90 days of the date that the

10 duly elected officers of the Native Hawaiian gov11 ernment submitted the organic governing docu12 ments of the Native Hawaiian government to the

13 Secretary, the certifications authorized in sub14 paragraph (B) shall be deemed to have been

15 made.

16 (2) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.—

17 (A) RECOGNITION.—Notwithstanding any

18 other provision of law, upon the certifications (or

19 deemed certifications) by the Secretary author20 ized in subparagraph (B), Federal recognition is

21 hereby extended to the Native Hawaiian govern22 ment as the representative governing body of the

23 Native Hawaiian people.

24 (B) NO DIMINISHMENT OF RIGHTS OR

25 PRIVILEGES.—Nothing contained in this Act
29

•HR 4904 RH

1 shall diminish, alter, or amend any existing

2 rights or privileges enjoyed by the Native Ha3 waiian people which are not inconsistent with

4 the provisions of this Act.

5 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

7 may be necessary to carry out the activities authorized in

8 sections 4, 6, and 7 of this Act.

9 SEC. 9. REAFFIRMATION OF DELEGATION OF FEDERAL AU10 THORITY; NEGOTIATIONS.

11 (a) REAFFIRMATION.—The delegation by the United

12 States of authority to the State of Hawaii to address the

13 conditions of Native Hawaiians contained in the Act enti14 tled ‘‘An Act to provide for the admission of the State of

15 Hawaii into the Union’’ approved March 18, 1959 (Public

16 Law 86–3; 73 Stat. 5) is hereby reaffirmed.

17 (b) NEGOTIATIONS.—Upon the Federal recognition of

18 the Native Hawaiian government pursuant to section

19 7(d)(2) of this Act, the United States is authorized to nego20 tiate and enter into an agreement with the State of Hawaii

21 and the Native Hawaiian government regarding the trans22 fer of lands, resources, and assets dedicated to Native Ha23 waiian use under existing law as in effect on the date of

24 enactment of this Act to the Native Hawaiian government.
30

•HR 4904 RH

1 SEC. 10. DISCLAIMER.

2 Nothing in this Act is intended to serve as a settlement

3 of any claims against the United States, or to affect the

4 rights of the Native Hawaiian people under international

5 law.

6 SEC. 11. REGULATIONS.

7 The Secretary is authorized to make such rules and

8 regulations and such delegations of authority as the Sec9 retary deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this

10 Act.

11 SEC. 12. SEVERABILITY.

12 In the event that any section or provision of this Act,

13 or any amendment made by this Act is held invalid, it is

14 the intent of Congress that the remaining sections or provi15 sions of this Act, and the amendments made by this Act,

16 shall continue in full force and effect.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to express the

policy of the United States regarding the United States

relationship with Native Hawaiians, to provide a process

for the reorganization of a Native Hawaiian government

and the recognition by the United States of the Native

Hawaiian government, and for other purposes.’’.

Union Calendar No. 541

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4904

[Report No. 106–897]

A BILL

To express the policy of the United States regarding the United States relationship with Native

Hawaiians, and for other purposes.

SEPTEMBER 26, 2000

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee

of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed