II 

Calendar No. 568 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 675 

[Report No. 112–251] 

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

relationship with Native Hawaiians and to provide a process for the 

recognition by the United States of the Native Hawaiian governing 

entity. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2011 

Mr. AKAKA (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. BEGICH, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

DECEMBER 17, 2012 

Reported by Mr. AKAKA, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To express the policy of the United States regarding the 

United States relationship with Native Hawaiians and 

to provide a process for the recognition by the United 

States of the Native Hawaiian governing entity. 

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. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native Hawaiian Gov3 ernment Reorganization Act of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) the Constitution vests Congress with the au7 thority to address the conditions of the indigenous, 

8 native people of the United States and the Supreme 

9 Court has held that under the Indian Commerce, 

10 Treaty, Supremacy, and Property Clauses, and the 

11 War Powers, Congress may exercise that power to 

12 rationally promote the welfare of the native peoples 

13 of the United States so long as the native people are 

14 a ‘‘distinctly native community’’; 

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

16 Hawaiian archipelago that is now part of the United 

17 States, are 1 of the indigenous, native peoples of the 

18 United States, and the Native Hawaiian people are 

19 a distinctly native community; 

20 (3) the United States has a special political and 

21 legal relationship with, and has long enacted legisla22 tion to promote the welfare of, the native peoples of 

23 the United States, including the Native Hawaiian 

24 people; 

25 (4) under the authority of the Constitution, the 

26 United States concluded a number of treaties with 


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1 the Kingdom of Hawaii, and from 1826 until 1893, 

2 the United States— 

3 (A) recognized the sovereignty of the King4 dom of Hawaii as a nation; 

5 (B) accorded full diplomatic recognition to 

6 the Kingdom of Hawaii; and 

7 (C) entered into treaties and conventions 

8 of peace, friendship and commerce with the 

9 Kingdom of Hawaii to govern trade, commerce, 

10 and navigation in 1826, 1842, 1849, 1875, and 

11 1887; 

12 (5) pursuant to the Hawaiian Homes Commis13 sion Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42), the 

14 United States set aside approximately 203,500 acres 

15 of land in trust to better address the conditions of 

16 Native Hawaiians in the Federal territory that later 

17 became the State of Hawaii and in enacting the Ha18 waiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, Congress ac19 knowledged the Native Hawaiian people as a native 

20 people of the United States, as evidenced by the 

21 Committee Report, which notes that Congress relied 

22 on the Indian affairs power and the War Powers, in23 cluding the power to make peace; 

24 (6) by setting aside 203,500 acres of land in 

25 trust for Native Hawaiian homesteads and farms, 


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1 the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, assists 

2 the members of the Native Hawaiian community in 

3 maintaining distinctly native communities through4 out the State of Hawaii; 

5 (7) approximately 9,800 Native Hawaiian fami6 lies reside on the Hawaiian Home Lands, and ap7 proximately 25,000 Native Hawaiians who are eligi8 ble to reside on the Hawaiian Home Lands are on 

9 a waiting list to receive assignments of Hawaiian 

10 Home Lands; 

11 (8)(A) in 1959, as part of the compact with the 

12 United States admitting Hawaii into the Union, 

13 Congress delegated the authority and responsibility 

14 to administer the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 

15 1920, lands in trust for Native Hawaiians and es16 tablished a new public trust (commonly known as 

17 the ‘‘ceded lands trust’’), for 5 purposes, 1 of which 

18 is the betterment of the conditions of Native Hawai19 ians, and Congress thereby reaffirmed its recogni20 tion of the Native Hawaiians as a distinctly native 

21 community with a direct lineal and historical succes22 sion to the aboriginal, indigenous people of Hawaii; 

23 (B) the public trust consists of lands, including 

24 submerged lands, natural resources, and the reve25 nues derived from the lands; and 


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1 (C) the assets of this public trust have never 

2 been completely inventoried or segregated; 

3 (9) Native Hawaiians have continuously sought 

4 access to the ceded lands in order to establish and 

5 maintain native settlements and distinct native com6 munities throughout the State; 

7 (10) the Hawaiian Home Lands and other 

8 ceded lands provide important native land reserves 

9 and resources for the Native Hawaiian community 

10 to maintain the practice of Native Hawaiian culture, 

11 language, and traditions, and for the continuity, sur12 vival, and economic self-sufficiency of the Native 

13 Hawaiian people as a distinctly native political com14 munity; 

15 (11) Native Hawaiians continue to maintain 

16 other distinctly native areas in Hawaii, including na17 tive lands that date back to the ali‘i and kuleana 

18 lands reserved under the Kingdom of Hawaii; 

19 (12) through the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian 

20 Homelands Assembly, Native Hawaiian civic associa21 tions, charitable trusts established by the Native Ha22 waiian ali‘i, nonprofit native service providers and 

23 other community associations, the Native Hawaiian 

24 people have actively maintained native traditions and 

25 customary usages throughout the Native Hawaiian 


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1 community and the Federal and State courts have 

2 continuously recognized the right of the Native Ha3 waiian people to engage in certain customary prac4 tices and usages on public lands; 

5 (13) on November 23, 1993, Public Law 103– 

6 150 (107 Stat. 1510) (commonly known as the 

7 ‘‘Apology Resolution’’) was enacted into law, extend8 ing an apology on behalf of the United States to the 

9 native people of Hawaii for the United States’ role 

10 in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii; 

11 (14) the Apology Resolution acknowledges that 

12 the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii occurred 

13 with the active participation of agents and citizens 

14 of the United States, and further acknowledges that 

15 the Native Hawaiian people never directly relin16 quished to the United States their claims to their in17 herent sovereignty as a people over their national 

18 lands, either through the Kingdom of Hawaii or 

19 through a plebiscite or referendum; 

20 (15)(A) the Apology Resolution expresses the 

21 commitment of Congress and the President— 

22 (i) to acknowledge the ramifications of the 

23 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii; and 

24 (ii) to support reconciliation efforts be25 tween the United States and Native Hawaiians; 


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1 (B) Congress established the Office of Hawai2 ian Relations within the Department of the Interior 

3 with 1 of its purposes being to consult with Native 

4 Hawaiians on the reconciliation process; and 

5 (C) the United States has the duty to reconcile 

6 and reaffirm its friendship with the Native Hawaiian 

7 people because, among other things, the United 

8 States Minister and United States naval forces par9 ticipated in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Ha10 waii; 

11 (16)(A) despite the overthrow of the Govern12 ment of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Native Hawaiians 

13 have continued to maintain their separate identity as 

14 a single distinctly native political community 

15 through cultural, social, and political institutions, 

16 and to give expression to their rights as native peo17 ple to self-determination, self-governance, and eco18 nomic self-sufficiency; and 

19 (B) there is clear continuity between the ab20 original, indigenous, native people of the Kingdom of 

21 Hawaii and their successors, the Native Hawaiian 

22 people today; 

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1 mination, self-governance, and economic self-suffi2 ciency— 

3 (A) through the provision of governmental 

4 services to Native Hawaiians, including the pro5 vision of— 

6 (i) health care services; 

7 (ii) educational programs; 

8 (iii) employment and training pro9 grams; 

10 (iv) economic development assistance 

11 programs; 

12 (v) children’s services; 

13 (vi) conservation programs; 

14 (vii) fish and wildlife protection; 

15 (viii) agricultural programs; 

16 (ix) native language immersion pro17 grams; 

18 (x) native language immersion schools 

19 from kindergarten through high school; 

20 (xi) college and master’s degree pro21 grams in native language immersion in22 struction; and 

23 (xii) traditional justice programs; and 


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1 (B) by continuing their efforts to enhance 

2 Native Hawaiian self-determination and local 

3 control; 

4 (18) Native Hawaiian people are actively en5 gaged in Native Hawaiian cultural practices, tradi6 tional agricultural methods, fishing and subsistence 

7 practices, maintenance of cultural use areas and sa8 cred sites, protection of burial sites, and the exercise 

9 of their traditional rights to gather medicinal plants 

10 and herbs, and food sources; 

11 (19) the Native Hawaiian people wish to pre12 serve, develop, and transmit to future generations of 

13 Native Hawaiians their lands and Native Hawaiian 

14 political and cultural identity in accordance with 

15 their traditions, beliefs, customs and practices, lan16 guage, and social and political institutions, to con17 trol and manage their own lands, including ceded 

18 lands, and to achieve greater self-determination over 

19 their own affairs; 

20 (20) this Act provides a process within the 

21 framework of Federal law for the Native Hawaiian 

22 people to exercise their inherent rights as a distinct, 

23 indigenous, native community to reorganize a single 

24 unified Native Hawaiian governing entity for the 


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1 purpose of giving expression to their rights as a na2 tive people to self-determination and self-governance; 

3 (21) Congress— 

4 (A) has declared that the United States 

5 has a special political and legal relationship for 

6 the welfare of the native peoples of the United 

7 States, including Native Hawaiians; 

8 (B) has identified Native Hawaiians as an 

9 indigenous, distinctly native people of the 

10 United States within the scope of its authority 

11 under the Constitution, and has enacted scores 

12 of statutes on their behalf; and 

13 (C) has delegated broad authority to the 

14 State of Hawaii to administer some of the 

15 United States’ responsibilities as they relate to 

16 the Native Hawaiian people and their lands; 

17 (22) the United States has recognized and re18 affirmed the special political and legal relationship 

19 with the Native Hawaiian people through the enact20 ment of the Act entitled, ‘‘An Act to provide for the 

21 admission of the State of Hawaii into the Union’’, 

22 approved March 18, 1959 (Public Law 86–3; 73 

23 Stat. 4), by— 

24 (A) ceding to the State of Hawaii title to 

25 the public lands formerly held by the United 


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1 States, and mandating that those lands be held 

2 as a public trust for 5 purposes, 1 of which is 

3 for the betterment of the conditions of Native 

4 Hawaiians; and 

5 (B) transferring the United States respon6 sibility for the administration of the Hawaiian 

7 Home Lands to the State of Hawaii, but retain8 ing the exclusive right of the United States to 

9 consent to any actions affecting the lands in10 cluded in the trust and any amendments to the 

11 Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 (42 

12 Stat. 108, chapter 42), that are enacted by the 

13 legislature of the State of Hawaii affecting the 

14 beneficiaries under the Act; 

15 (23) the United States has continually recog16 nized and reaffirmed that— 

17 (A) Native Hawaiians have a direct genea18 logical, cultural, historic, and land-based con19 nection to their forebears, the aboriginal, indig20 enous, native people who exercised original sov21 ereignty over the Hawaiian Islands; 

22 (B) Native Hawaiians have never relin23 quished their claims to sovereignty or their sov24 ereign lands; 


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1 (C) the United States extends services to 

2 Native Hawaiians because of their unique sta3 tus as the native people of a prior-sovereign na4 tion with whom the United States has a special 

5 political and legal relationship; and 

6 (D) the special relationship of American 

7 Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians 

8 to the United States arises out of their status 

9 as aboriginal, indigenous, native people of the 

10 United States; and 

11 (24) the State of Hawaii supports the reaffir12 mation of the special political and legal relationship 

13 between the Native Hawaiian governing entity and 

14 the United States, as evidenced by 2 unanimous res15 olutions enacted by the Hawaii State Legislature in 

16 the 2000 and 2001 sessions of the Legislature and 

17 by the testimony of the Governor of the State of Ha18 waii before the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 

19 Senate on February 25, 2003, and March 1, 2005. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) ABORIGINAL, INDIGENOUS, NATIVE PEO23 PLE.—The term ‘‘aboriginal, indigenous, native peo24 ple’’ means a people whom Congress has recognized 

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1 came part of the United States and who exercised 

2 sovereignty in the areas that later became part of 

3 the United States. 

4 (2) APOLOGY RESOLUTION.—The term ‘‘Apol5 ogy Resolution’’ means Public Law 103–150 (107 

6 Stat. 1510), a Joint Resolution extending an apol7 ogy to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the United 

8 States for the participation of agents of the United 

9 States in the January 17, 1893, overthrow of the 

10 Kingdom of Hawaii. 

11 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

12 means the Commission established under section 

13 8(b). 

14 (4) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

15 Native Hawaiian Interim Governing Council estab16 lished under section 8(c)(2). 

17 (5) INDIAN PROGRAM OR SERVICE.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Indian pro19 gram or service’’ means any federally funded or 

20 authorized program or service provided to an 

21 Indian tribe (or member of an Indian tribe) be22 cause of the status of the members of the In23 dian tribe as Indians. 

24 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Indian pro25 gram or service’’ includes a program or service 


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1 provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the 

2 Indian Health Service, or any other Federal 

3 agency. 

4 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

5 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

6 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

7 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

8 (7) INDIGENOUS, NATIVE PEOPLE.—The term 

9 ‘‘indigenous, native people’’ means the lineal de10 scendants of the aboriginal, indigenous, native peo11 ple of the United States. 

12 (8) INTERAGENCY COORDINATING GROUP.—The 

13 term ‘‘Interagency Coordinating Group’’ means the 

14 Native Hawaiian Interagency Coordinating Group 

15 established under section 6. 

16 (9) NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERNING ENTITY.— 

17 The term ‘‘Native Hawaiian governing entity’’ 

18 means the governing entity organized pursuant to 

19 this Act by the qualified Native Hawaiian constitu20 ents. 

21 (10) NATIVE HAWAIIAN MEMBERSHIP ORGANI22 ZATION.—The term ‘‘Native Hawaiian Membership 

23 Organization’’ means an organization that— 

24 (A) serves and represents the interests of 

25 Native Hawaiians, has as a primary and stated 


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1 purpose the provision of services to Native Ha2 waiians, and has expertise in Native Hawaiian 

3 affairs; 

4 (B) has leaders who are elected democrat5 ically, or selected through traditional Native 

6 leadership practices, by members of the Native 

7 Hawaiian community; 

8 (C) advances the cause of Native Hawai9 ians culturally, socially, economically, or politi10 cally; 

11 (D) is a membership organization or asso12 ciation; and 

13 (E) has an accurate and reliable list of Na14 tive Hawaiian members. 

15 (11) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

16 United States Office for Native Hawaiian Relations 

17 established by section 5(a). 

18 (12) QUALIFIED NATIVE HAWAIIAN CON19 STITUENT.—For the purposes of establishing the 

20 roll authorized under section 8, and prior to the rec21 ognition by the United States of the Native Hawai22 ian governing entity, the term ‘‘qualified Native Ha23 waiian constituent’’ means an individual who the 

24 Commission determines has satisfied the following 


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1 criteria and who makes a written statement certi2 fying that he or she— 

3 (A) is— 

4 (i) an individual who is 1 of the indig5 enous, native people of Hawaii and who is 

6 a direct lineal descendant of the aboriginal, 

7 indigenous, native people who— 

8 (I) resided in the islands that 

9 now comprise the State of Hawaii on 

10 or before January 1, 1893; and 

11 (II) occupied and exercised sov12 ereignty in the Hawaiian archipelago, 

13 including the area that now con14 stitutes the State of Hawaii; or 

15 (ii) an individual who is 1 of the in16 digenous, native people of Hawaii and who 

17 was eligible in 1921 for the programs au18 thorized by the Hawaiian Homes Commis19 sion Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42), 

20 or a direct lineal descendant of that indi21 vidual; 

22 (B) wishes to participate in the reorganiza23 tion of the Native Hawaiian governing entity; 

24 (C) is 18 years of age or older; 

25 (D) is a citizen of the United States; and 


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1 (E) maintains a significant cultural, social, 

2 or civic connection to the Native Hawaiian com3 munity, as evidenced by satisfying 2 or more of 

4 the following 10 criteria: 

5 (i) Resides in the State of Hawaii. 

6 (ii) Resides outside the State of Ha7 waii and— 

8 (I)(aa) currently serves or served 

9 as (or has a parent or spouse who 

10 currently serves or served as) a mem11 ber of the Armed Forces or as an em12 ployee of the Federal Government; 

13 and 

14 (bb) resided in the State of Ha15 waii prior to the time he or she (or 

16 such parent or spouse) left the State 

17 of Hawaii to serve as a member of the 

18 Armed Forces or as an employee of 

19 the Federal Government; or 

20 (II)(aa) currently is or was en21 rolled (or has a parent or spouse who 

22 currently is or was enrolled) in an ac23 credited institution of higher edu24 cation outside the State of Hawaii; 

25 and 


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1 (bb) resided in the State of Ha2 waii prior to the time he or she (or 

3 such parent or spouse) left the State 

4 of Hawaii to attend such institution. 

5 (iii)(I) Is or was eligible to be a bene6 ficiary of the programs authorized by the 

7 Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 

8 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42), and resides or 

9 resided on land set aside as ‘‘Hawaiian 

10 home lands’’, as defined in such Act; or 

11 (II) Is a child or grandchild of an in12 dividual who is or was eligible to be a ben13 eficiary of the programs authorized by 

14 such Act and who resides or resided on 

15 land set aside as ‘‘Hawaiian home lands’’, 

16 as defined in such Act. 

17 (iv) Is or was eligible to be a bene18 ficiary of the programs authorized by the 

19 Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 

20 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42). 

21 (v) Is a child or grandchild of an indi22 vidual who is or was eligible to be a bene23 ficiary of the programs authorized by the 

24 Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920 

25 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 42). 


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1 (vi) Resides on or has an ownership 

2 interest in, or has a parent or grandparent 

3 who resides on or has an ownership inter4 est in, ‘‘kuleana land’’ that is owned in 

5 whole or in part by a person who, accord6 ing to a genealogy verification by the Of7 fice of Hawaiian Affairs or by court order, 

8 is a lineal descendant of the person or per9 sons who received the original title to such 

10 ‘‘kuleana land’’, defined as lands granted 

11 to native tenants pursuant to Haw. L. 

12 1850, p. 202, entitled ‘‘An Act Confirming 

13 Certain Resolutions of the King and Privy 

14 Council Passed on the 21st day of Decem15 ber, A.D. 1849, Granting to the Common 

16 People Allodial Titles for Their Own Lands 

17 and House Lots, and Certain Other Privi18 leges’’, as amended by Haw. L. 1851, p. 

19 98, entitled ‘‘An Act to Amend An Act 

20 Granting to the Common People Allodial 

21 Titles for Their Own Lands and House 

22 Lots, and Certain Other Privileges’’ and as 

23 further amended by any subsequent legis24 lation. 


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1 (vii) Is, or is the child or grandchild 

2 of, an individual who has been or was a 

3 student for at least 1 school year at a 

4 school or program taught through the me5 dium of the Hawaiian language under sec6 tion 302H–6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, or 

7 at a school founded and operated primarily 

8 or exclusively for the benefit of Native Ha9 waiians. 

10 (viii) Has been a member since Sep11 tember 30, 2009, of at least 1 Native Ha12 waiian Membership Organization. 

13 (ix) Has been a member since Sep14 tember 30, 2009, of at least 2 Native Ha15 waiian Membership Organizations. 

16 (x) Is regarded as a Native Hawaiian 

17 and whose mother or father is (or if de18 ceased, was) regarded as Native Hawaiian 

19 by the Native Hawaiian community, as evi20 denced by sworn affidavits from two or 

21 more qualified Native Hawaiian constitu22 ents certified by the Commission as pos23 sessing expertise in the social, cultural, 

24 and civic affairs of the Native Hawaiian 

25 community. 


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1 (13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

2 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 (14) SPECIAL POLITICAL AND LEGAL RELA4 TIONSHIP.—The term ‘‘special political and legal re5 lationship’’ shall refer, except where differences are 

6 specifically indicated elsewhere in the Act, to the 

7 type of and nature of relationship the United States 

8 has with the several federally recognized Indian 

9 tribes. 

10 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES POLICY AND PURPOSE. 

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

12 (1) Native Hawaiians are a unique and distinct, 

13 indigenous, native people with whom the United 

14 States has a special political and legal relationship; 

15 (2) the United States has a special political and 

16 legal relationship with the Native Hawaiian people, 

17 which includes promoting the welfare of Native Ha18 waiians; 

19 (3)(A) Congress possesses and hereby exercises 

20 the authority under the Constitution, including but 

21 not limited to article I, section 8, clause 3, to enact 

22 legislation to better the conditions of Native Hawai23 ians and has exercised this authority through the en24 actment of— 


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1 (i) the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 

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

3 (ii) 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 (iii) more than 150 other Federal laws ad8 dressing the conditions of Native Hawaiians; 

9 (B) other sources of authority under the Con10 stitution for legislation on behalf of the indigenous, 

11 native peoples of the United States, including Native 

12 Hawaiians, include but are not limited to the Prop13 erty, Treaty, and Supremacy Clauses, War Powers, 

14 and the Fourteenth Amendment, and Congress here15 by relies on those powers in enacting this legislation; 

16 and 

17 (C) the Constitution’s original Apportionment 

18 Clause and the 14th Amendment Citizenship and 

19 amended Apportionment Clauses also acknowledge 

20 the propriety of legislation on behalf of the native 

21 peoples of the United States, including Native Ha22 waiians; 

23 (4) Native Hawaiians have— 

24 (A) an inherent right to autonomy in their 

25 internal affairs; 


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1 (B) an inherent right of self-determination 

2 and self-governance; 

3 (C) the right to reorganize a Native Ha4 waiian governing entity; and 

5 (D) the right to become economically self6 sufficient; and 

7 (5) the United States shall continue to engage 

8 in a process of reconciliation and political relations 

9 with the Native Hawaiian people. 

10 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

11 a process for the reorganization of the single Native Ha12 waiian governing entity and the reaffirmation of the spe13 cial political and legal relationship between the United 

14 States and that Native Hawaiian governing entity for pur15 poses of continuing a government-to-government relation16 ship. 

17 SEC. 5. UNITED STATES OFFICE FOR NATIVE HAWAIIAN RE18 LATIONS. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

20 the Office of the Secretary the United States Office for 

21 Native Hawaiian Relations. 

22 (b) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 

23 (1) continue the process of reconciliation with 

24 the Native Hawaiian people in furtherance of the 

25 Apology Resolution; 


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1 (2) upon the reaffirmation of the government2 to-government relationship between the single Native 

3 Hawaiian governing entity and the United States, 

4 effectuate and coordinate the special political and 

5 legal relationship between the Native Hawaiian gov6 erning entity and the United States through the 

7 Secretary, and with all other Federal agencies; 

8 (3) provide timely notice to, and consult with, 

9 the Native Hawaiian governing entity before taking 

10 any actions that may have the potential to signifi11 cantly affect Native Hawaiian resources, rights, or 

12 lands; 

13 (4) work with the Interagency Coordinating 

14 Group, other Federal agencies, and the State of Ha15 waii on policies, practices, and proposed actions af16 fecting Native Hawaiian resources, rights, or lands; 

17 and 

18 (5) prepare and submit to the Committee on 

19 Indian Affairs and the Committee on Energy and 

20 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

21 on Natural Resources of the House of Representa22 tives an annual report detailing the activities of the 

23 Interagency Coordinating Group that are under24 taken with respect to the continuing process of rec25 onciliation and to effect meaningful consultation 


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1 with the Native Hawaiian governing entity and may 

2 provide recommendations for any necessary changes 

3 to Federal law or regulations promulgated under the 

4 authority of Federal law. 

5 (c) APPLICABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF DE6 FENSE.—This section shall have no applicability to the 

7 Department of Defense or to any agency or component 

8 of the Department of Defense, but the Secretary of De9 fense may designate 1 or more officials as liaison to the 

10 Office. 

11 SEC. 6. NATIVE HAWAIIAN INTERAGENCY COORDINATING 

12 GROUP. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—In recognition that Federal 

14 programs authorized to address the conditions of Native 

15 Hawaiians are largely administered by Federal agencies 

16 other than the Department of the Interior, there is estab17 lished an interagency coordinating group, to be known as 

18 the ‘‘Native Hawaiian Interagency Coordinating Group’’. 

19 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Interagency Coordinating 

20 Group shall be composed of officials, to be designated by 

21 the President, from— 

22 (1) each Federal agency whose actions may sig23 nificantly or uniquely impact Native Hawaiian pro24 grams, resources, rights, or lands; and 

25 (2) the Office. 


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1 (c) LEAD AGENCY.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Department of the Inte3 rior and the White House Office of Intergovern4 mental Affairs shall serve as the leaders of the 

5 Interagency Coordinating Group. 

6 (2) MEETINGS.—The Secretary shall convene 

7 meetings of the Interagency Coordinating Group. 

8 (d) DUTIES.—The Interagency Coordinating Group 

9 shall— 

10 (1) coordinate Federal programs and policies 

11 that affect Native Hawaiians or actions by any agen12 cy or agencies of the Federal Government that may 

13 significantly or uniquely affect Native Hawaiian re14 sources, rights, or lands; 

15 (2) consult with the Native Hawaiian governing 

16 entity, through the coordination referred to in para17 graph (1), but the consultation obligation established 

18 in this provision shall apply only after the satisfac19 tion of all of the conditions referred to in section 

20 8(c)(8); and 

21 (3) ensure the participation of each Federal 

22 agency in the development of the report to Congress 

23 authorized in section 5(b)(5). 

24 (e) APPLICABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF DE25 FENSE.—This section shall have no applicability to the 


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1 Department of Defense or to any agency or component 

2 of the Department of Defense, but the Secretary of De3 fense may designate 1 or more officials as liaison to the 

4 Interagency Coordinating Group. 

5 SEC. 7. DESIGNATION OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REP6 RESENTATIVE. 

7 The Attorney General shall designate an appropriate 

8 official within the Department of Justice to assist the Of9 fice in the implementation and protection of the rights of 

10 Native Hawaiians and their political and legal relationship 

11 with the United States, and upon the recognition of the 

12 Native Hawaiian governing entity as provided for in sec13 tion 8, in the implementation and protection of the rights 

14 of the Native Hawaiian governing entity and its political 

15 and legal relationship with the United States. 

16 SEC. 8. PROCESS FOR REORGANIZATION OF NATIVE HA17 WAIIAN GOVERNING ENTITY AND REAFFIR18 MATION OF SPECIAL POLITICAL AND LEGAL 

19 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UNITED STATES 

20 AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERNING ENTITY. 

21 (a) RECOGNITION OF NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERNING

22 ENTITY.—The right of the qualified Native Hawaiian con23 stituents to reorganize the single Native Hawaiian gov24 erning entity to provide for their common welfare and to 


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1 adopt appropriate organic governing documents is recog2 nized by the United States. 

3 (b) COMMISSION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be es5 tablished a Commission to be composed of 9 mem6 bers for the purposes of— 

7 (A) preparing and maintaining a roll of 

8 qualified Native Hawaiian constituents; and 

9 (B) certifying that the individuals on the 

10 roll of qualified Native Hawaiian constituents 

11 meet the definition of qualified Native Hawai12 ian constituent set forth in section 3. 

13 (2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

14 (A) APPOINTMENT.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

16 days after the date of enactment of this 

17 Act, the Secretary shall appoint the mem18 bers of the Commission in accordance with 

19 subparagraph (B). 

20 (ii) CONSIDERATION.—In making an 

21 appointment under clause (i), the Sec22 retary may take into consideration a rec23 ommendation made by any Native Hawai24 ian Membership Organization. 


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1 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—Each member of 

2 the Commission shall demonstrate, as deter3 mined by the Secretary— 

4 (i) not less than 10 years of experi5 ence in the study and determination of Na6 tive Hawaiian genealogy (traditional cul7 tural experience shall be given due consid8 eration); and 

9 (ii) an ability to read and translate 

10 into English documents written in the Ha11 waiian language. 

12 (C) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Com13 mission— 

14 (i) shall not affect the powers of the 

15 Commission; and 

16 (ii) shall be filled in the same manner 

17 as the original appointment. 

18 (3) EXPENSES.—Each member of the Commis19 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 

20 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for 

21 employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 

22 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from 

23 their homes or regular places of business in the per24 formance of services for the Commission. 

25 (4) DUTIES.—The Commission shall— 


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1 (A) prepare and maintain a roll of quali2 fied Native Hawaiian constituents as set forth 

3 in subsection (c); and 

4 (B) certify that the individuals on the roll 

5 of qualified Native Hawaiian constituents meet 

6 the definition of that term as set forth in sec7 tion 3. 

8 (5) STAFF.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may, 

10 without regard to the civil service laws (includ11 ing regulations), appoint and terminate an exec12 utive director and such other additional per13 sonnel as are necessary to enable the Commis14 sion to perform the duties of the Commission. 

15 (B) COMPENSATION.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

17 in clause (ii), the Commission may fix the 

18 compensation of the executive director and 

19 other personnel without regard to the pro20 visions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 

21 chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, 

22 relating to classification of positions and 

23 General Schedule pay rates. 

24 (ii) MAXIMUM RATE OF PAY.—The 

25 rate of pay for the executive director and 


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1 other personnel shall not exceed the rate 

2 payable for level V of the Executive Sched3 ule under section 5316 of title 5, United 

4 States Code. 

5 (6) DETAIL OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EM6 PLOYEES.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—An employee of the 

8 Federal Government may be detailed to the 

9 Commission without reimbursement. 

10 (B) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of 

11 the employee shall be without interruption or 

12 loss of civil service status or privilege. 

13 (7) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTER14 MITTENT SERVICES.—The Commission may procure 

15 temporary and intermittent services in accordance 

16 with section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, 

17 at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily 

18 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed 

19 for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 

20 5316 of that title. 

21 (8) EXPIRATION.—The Secretary shall dissolve 

22 the Commission upon the reaffirmation of the spe23 cial political and legal relationship between the Na24 tive Hawaiian governing entity and the United 

25 States. 


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1 (c) PROCESS FOR REORGANIZATION OF NATIVE HA2 WAIIAN GOVERNING ENTITY.— 

3 (1) ROLL.— 

4 (A) CONTENTS.—The roll shall include the 

5 names of the qualified Native Hawaiian con6 stituents who are certified by the Commission 

7 to be qualified Native Hawaiian constituents, as 

8 defined in section 3. 

9 (B) FORMATION OF ROLL.—Each indi10 vidual claiming to be a qualified Native Hawai11 ian constituent shall submit to the Commission 

12 documentation in the form established by the 

13 Commission that is sufficient to enable the 

14 Commission to determine whether the individual 

15 meets the definition set forth in section 3; Pro16 vided, That an individual presenting evidence 

17 that he or she satisfies the definition in section 

18 2 of Public Law 103–150 shall be presumed to 

19 meet the requirement of section 3(12)(A)(i). 

20 (C) DOCUMENTATION.—The Commission 

21 shall— 

22 (i)(I) identify the types of documenta23 tion that may be submitted to the Commis24 sion that would enable the Commission to 

25 determine whether an individual meets the 


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1 definition of qualified Native Hawaiian 

2 constituent set forth in section 3; 

3 (II) recognize an individual’s identi4 fication of lineal ancestors on the 1890 

5 Census by the Kingdom of Hawaii as a re6 liable indicia of lineal descent from the ab7 original, indigenous, native people who re8 sided in the islands that now comprise the 

9 State of Hawaii on or before January 1, 

10 1893; and 

11 (III) permit elderly Native Hawaiians 

12 and other Native Hawaiians lacking birth 

13 certificates or other documentation due to 

14 birth on Hawaiian Home Lands or other 

15 similar circumstances to establish lineal de16 scent by sworn affidavits from 2 or more 

17 qualified Native Hawaiian constituents; 

18 (ii) establish a standard format for 

19 the submission of documentation and a 

20 process to ensure veracity; and 

21 (iii) publish information related to 

22 clauses (i) and (ii) in the Federal Register. 

23 (D) CONSULTATION.—In making deter24 minations that each individual proposed for in25 clusion on the roll of qualified Native Hawaiian 


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1 constituents meets the definition of qualified 

2 Native Hawaiian constituent in section 3, the 

3 Commission may consult with Native Hawaiian 

4 Membership Organizations, agencies of the 

5 State of Hawaii including but not limited to the 

6 Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the Of7 fice of Hawaiian Affairs, and the State Depart8 ment of Health, and other entities with exper9 tise and experience in the determination of Na10 tive Hawaiian ancestry and lineal descendancy. 

11 (E) NOTIFICATION.—The Commission 

12 shall— 

13 (i) inform an individual whether they 

14 have been deemed by the Commission a 

15 qualified Native Hawaiian constituent; and 

16 (ii) inform an individual of a right to 

17 appeal the decision if deemed not to be a 

18 qualified Native Hawaiian constituent. 

19 (F) CERTIFICATION AND SUBMITTAL OF

20 ROLL TO SECRETARY.—The Commission 

21 shall— 

22 (i) submit the roll containing the 

23 names of those individuals who meet the 

24 definition of qualified Native Hawaiian 

25 constituent in section 3 to the Secretary 


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1 within 2 years from the date on which the 

2 Commission is fully composed; and 

3 (ii) certify to the Secretary that each 

4 of the qualified Native Hawaiian constitu5 ents proposed for inclusion on the roll 

6 meets the definition set forth in section 3. 

7 (G) PUBLICATION.—Upon certification by 

8 the Commission to the Secretary that those list9 ed on the roll meet the definition of qualified 

10 Native Hawaiian constituent set forth in section 

11 3, the Commission shall publish the notice of 

12 the certification of the roll in the Federal Reg13 ister, notwithstanding pending appeals pursuant 

14 to subparagraph (H). 

15 (H) APPEAL.—The Secretary, in consulta16 tion with the Commission, shall establish a 

17 mechanism for an administrative appeal for any 

18 person whose name is excluded from the roll 

19 who claims to meet the definition of qualified 

20 Native Hawaiian constituent in section 3. 

21 (I) PUBLICATION; UPDATE.—The Commis22 sion shall— 

23 (i) publish the notice of the certifi24 cation of the roll regardless of whether ap25 peals are pending; 


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1 (ii) update the roll and provide notice 

2 of the updated roll on the final disposition 

3 of any appeal; 

4 (iii) update the roll to include any 

5 person who has been certified by the Com6 mission as meeting the definition of quali7 fied Native Hawaiian constituent in section 

8 3 after the initial publication of the roll or 

9 after any subsequent publications of the 

10 roll; and 

11 (iv) provide a copy of the roll and any 

12 updated rolls to the Council. 

13 (J) EFFECT OF PUBLICATION.—The publi14 cation of the initial and updated roll shall serve 

15 as the basis for the eligibility of qualified Na16 tive Hawaiian constituents whose names are 

17 listed on those rolls to participate in the reorga18 nization of the Native Hawaiian governing enti19 ty. 

20 (2) ORGANIZATION OF COUNCIL.— 

21 (A) ORGANIZATION.—The Commission, in 

22 consultation with the Secretary, shall hold a 

23 minimum of 3 meetings and each meeting shall 

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1 tive Hawaiian constituents listed on the roll es2 tablished under this section— 

3 (i) to develop criteria for candidates 

4 to be elected to serve on the Council; 

5 (ii) to determine the structure of the 

6 Council, including the number of Council 

7 members; and 

8 (iii) to elect members from individuals 

9 listed on the roll established under this 

10 subsection to the Council. 

11 (B) POWERS.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Council— 

13 (I) shall represent those listed on 

14 the roll established under this section 

15 in the implementation of this Act; and 

16 (II) shall have no powers other 

17 than powers given to the Council 

18 under this Act. 

19 (ii) FUNDING.—The Council may 

20 enter into a contract with, or obtain a 

21 grant from, any Federal or State agency to 

22 carry out clause (iii). 

23 (iii) ACTIVITIES.— 

24 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Council 

25 shall conduct, among the qualified 


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1 Native Hawaiian constituents listed 

2 on the roll established under this sub3 section, a referendum for the purpose 

4 of determining the proposed elements 

5 of the organic governing documents of 

6 the Native Hawaiian governing entity, 

7 including but not limited to— 

8 (aa) the proposed criteria 

9 for future membership in the Na10 tive Hawaiian governing entity; 

11 (bb) the proposed powers 

12 and authorities to be exercised by 

13 the Native Hawaiian governing 

14 entity, as well as the proposed 

15 privileges and immunities of the 

16 Native Hawaiian governing enti17 ty; 

18 (cc) the proposed civil rights 

19 and protection of the rights of 

20 the citizens of the Native Hawai21 ian governing entity and all per22 sons affected by the exercise of 

23 governmental powers and au24 thorities of the Native Hawaiian 

25 governing entity; and 


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1 (dd) other issues determined 

2 appropriate by the Council. 

3 (II) DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC

4 GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.—Based on 

5 the referendum, the Council shall de6 velop proposed organic governing doc7 uments for the Native Hawaiian gov8 erning entity and may seek technical 

9 assistance from the Secretary on the 

10 draft organic governing documents to 

11 ensure that the draft organic gov12 erning documents comply with this 

13 Act and other Federal law. 

14 (III) DISTRIBUTION.—The Coun15 cil shall publish to all qualified Native 

16 Hawaiian constituents of the Native 

17 Hawaiian governing entity listed on 

18 the roll published under this sub19 section notice of the availability of— 

20 (aa) a copy of the proposed 

21 organic governing documents, as 

22 drafted by the Council; and 

23 (bb) a brief impartial de24 scription of the proposed organic 

25 governing documents; 


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1 (IV) ELECTIONS.— 

2 (aa) IN GENERAL.—Not 

3 sooner than 180 days after the 

4 proposed organic governing docu5 ments are drafted and distrib6 uted, the Council, with the assist7 ance of the Secretary, shall hold 

8 elections for the purpose of rati9 fying the proposed organic gov10 erning documents. 

11 (bb) PURPOSE.—The Coun12 cil, with the assistance of the 

13 Secretary, shall hold the election 

14 for the purpose of ratifying the 

15 proposed organic governing docu16 ments 60 days after publishing 

17 notice of an election. 

18 (cc) OFFICERS.—On certifi19 cation of the organic governing 

20 documents by the Secretary in 

21 accordance with paragraph (4), 

22 the Council, with the assistance 

23 of the Secretary, shall hold elec24 tions of the officers of the Native 


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1 Hawaiian governing entity pursu2 ant to paragraph (5). 

3 (3) SUBMITTAL OF ORGANIC GOVERNING DOCU4 MENTS.—Following the reorganization of the Native 

5 Hawaiian governing entity and the adoption of or6 ganic governing documents, the Council shall submit 

7 the organic governing documents of the Native Ha8 waiian governing entity to the Secretary. 

9 (4) CERTIFICATIONS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Within the context of 

11 the future negotiations to be conducted under 

12 the authority of section 9(b)(1), and the subse13 quent actions by the Congress and the State of 

14 Hawaii to enact legislation to implement the 

15 agreements of the 3 governments, not later 

16 than 180 days, which may be extended an addi17 tional 90 days if the Secretary deems necessary, 

18 after the date on which the Council submits the 

19 organic governing documents to the Secretary, 

20 the Secretary shall certify or decline to certify 

21 that the organic governing documents— 

22 (i) establish the criteria for member23 ship in the Native Hawaiian governing en24 tity; 


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1 (ii) were adopted by a majority vote of 

2 those qualified Native Hawaiian constitu3 ents whose names are listed on the roll 

4 published by the Secretary and who voted 

5 in the election; 

6 (iii) provide authority for the Native 

7 Hawaiian governing entity to negotiate 

8 with Federal, State, and local govern9 ments, and other entities; 

10 (iv) provide for the exercise of inher11 ent and other appropriate governmental 

12 authorities by the Native Hawaiian gov13 erning entity; 

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

15 or encumbrance of lands, interests in 

16 lands, or other assets of the Native Hawai17 ian governing entity without the consent of 

18 the Native Hawaiian governing entity; 

19 (vi) provide for the protection of the 

20 civil rights of the citizens of the Native 

21 Hawaiian governing entity and all persons 

22 affected by the exercise of governmental 

23 powers and authorities by the Native Ha24 waiian governing entity; and 


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1 (vii) are consistent with applicable 

2 Federal law. 

3 (B) RESUBMISSION IN CASE OF NON4 COMPLIANCE.— 

5 (i) RESUBMISSION BY THE SEC6 RETARY.—If the Secretary determines that 

7 the organic governing documents, or any 

8 part of the documents, do not meet all of 

9 the requirements set forth in subparagraph 

10 (A), the Secretary shall resubmit the or11 ganic governing documents to the Council, 

12 along with a justification for each of the 

13 Secretary’s findings as to why the provi14 sions are not in full compliance. 

15 (ii) AMENDMENT AND RESUBMISSION

16 OF ORGANIC GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.—If 

17 the organic governing documents are re18 submitted to the Council by the Secretary 

19 under clause (i), the Council shall— 

20 (I) amend the organic governing 

21 documents to ensure that the docu22 ments meet all the requirements set 

23 forth in subparagraph (A); and 

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1 retary for certification in accordance 

2 with this paragraph. 

3 (C) CERTIFICATIONS DEEMED MADE.— 

4 The certifications under this paragraph shall be 

5 deemed to have been made if the Secretary has 

6 not acted within 180 days after the date on 

7 which the Council has submitted the organic 

8 governing documents of the Native Hawaiian 

9 governing entity to the Secretary. 

10 (5) ELECTIONS.—On completion of the certifi11 cations by the Secretary under paragraph (4), the 

12 Council, with the assistance of the Secretary, shall 

13 hold elections of the officers of the Native Hawaiian 

14 governing entity. 

15 (6) PROVISION OF ROLL.—The Council shall 

16 provide a copy of the roll of qualified Native Hawai17 ian constituents to the governing body of the Native 

18 Hawaiian governing entity. 

19 (7) TERMINATION.—The Council shall cease to 

20 exist and shall have no power or authority under 

21 this Act after the officers of the governing body who 

22 are elected as provided in paragraph (5) are in23 stalled. 

24 (8) REAFFIRMATION.—Notwithstanding any 

25 other provision of law, the special political and legal 


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1 relationship between the United States and the Na2 tive Hawaiian people is hereby reaffirmed and the 

3 United States extends Federal recognition to the 

4 Native Hawaiian governing entity as the representa5 tive sovereign governing body of the Native Hawai6 ian people after— 

7 (A) the approval of the organic governing 

8 documents by the Secretary under subpara9 graph (A) or (C) of paragraph (4); and 

10 (B) the officers of the Native Hawaiian 

11 governing entity elected under paragraph (5) 

12 have been installed. 

13 SEC. 9. REAFFIRMATION OF DELEGATION OF FEDERAL AU14 THORITY TO STATE OF HAWAII; NEGOTIA15 TIONS; CLAIMS. 

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

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

18 conditions of the indigenous, native people of Hawaii con19 tained in the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the ad20 mission of the State of Hawaii into the Union’’, approved 

21 March 18, 1959 (Public Law 86–3; 73 Stat. 4), is re22 affirmed. 

23 (b) NEGOTIATIONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the reaffirmation of 

25 the special political and legal relationship between 


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1 the United States and the Native Hawaiian gov2 erning entity, the United States and the State of 

3 Hawaii may enter into negotiations with the Native 

4 Hawaiian governing entity designed to lead to an 

5 agreement or agreements addressing such matters 

6 as— 

7 (A) the transfer of State of Hawaii lands 

8 and surplus Federal lands, natural resources, 

9 and other assets, and the protection of existing 

10 rights related to such lands or resources; 

11 (B) the exercise of governmental authority 

12 over any transferred lands, natural resources, 

13 and other assets, including land use; 

14 (C) the exercise of civil and criminal juris15 diction; 

16 (D) the exercise of other powers and au17 thorities that are recognized by the United 

18 States as powers and authorities typically exer19 cised by governments representing indigenous, 

20 native people of the United States; 

21 (E) any residual responsibilities of the 

22 United States and the State of Hawaii; and 

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1 waiians by the United States or by the State of 

2 Hawaii. 

3 (2) AMENDMENTS TO EXISTING LAWS.—Upon 

4 agreement on any matter or matters negotiated with 

5 the United States or the State of Hawaii, and the 

6 Native Hawaiian governing entity, the parties may 

7 submit— 

8 (A) to the Committee on Indian Affairs of 

9 the Senate, the Committee on Energy and Nat10 ural Resources of the Senate, and the Com11 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of 

12 Representatives recommendations for proposed 

13 amendments to Federal law that will enable the 

14 implementation of agreements reached between 

15 the governments; and 

16 (B) to the Governor and the legislature of 

17 the State of Hawaii, recommendations for pro18 posed amendments to State law that will enable 

19 the implementation of agreements reached be20 tween the governments. 

21 (3) GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY AND

22 POWER.—The Native Hawaiian governing entity 

23 shall be vested with the inherent powers and privi24 leges of self-government of a native government 

25 under existing law, except as set forth in section 


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1 10(a). Said powers and privileges may be modified 

2 by agreement between the Native Hawaiian gov3 erning entity, the United States, and the State pur4 suant to paragraph (1), subject to the limit de5 scribed by section 10(a). Unless so agreed, nothing 

6 in this Act shall preempt Federal or State authority 

7 over Native Hawaiians or their property under exist8 ing law or authorize the State to tax or regulate the 

9 Native Hawaiian governing entity. 

10 (4) MEMBERSHIP.—Once the United States ex11 tends Federal recognition to the Native Hawaiian 

12 governing entity, the United States will recognize 

13 and affirm the Native Hawaiian governing entity’s 

14 inherent power and authority to determine its own 

15 membership criteria, to determine its own member16 ship, and to grant, deny, revoke, or qualify member17 ship without regard to whether any person was or 

18 was not deemed to be a qualified Native Hawaiian 

19 constituent under this Act. 

20 (c) CLAIMS.—Nothing in this Act— 

21 (1) alters existing law, including case law, re22 garding obligations of the United States or the State 

23 of Hawaii relating to events or actions that occurred 

24 prior to recognition of the Native Hawaiian gov25 erning entity; 


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1 (2) creates, enlarges, revives, modifies, dimin2 ishes, extinguishes, waives, or otherwise alters any 

3 claim or cause of action against the United States 

4 or its officers or the State of Hawaii or its officers, 

5 or any defense (including the defense of statute of 

6 limitations) to any such claim or cause of action; or 

7 (3) amends section 2409a of title 28, United 

8 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Quiet Title 

9 Act’’), chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code 

10 (commonly known as the ‘‘Federal Tort Claims 

11 Act’’), section 1491 of title 28, United States Code 

12 (commonly known as the ‘‘Tucker Act’’), section 

13 1505 of title 28, United States Code (commonly 

14 known as the ‘‘Indian Tucker Act’’), the Hawaii Or15 ganic Act (31 Stat. 141), or any other Federal stat16 ute, except as expressly amended by this Act. 

17 SEC. 10. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN FEDERAL LAWS. 

18 (a) INDIAN GAMING REGULATORY ACT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Native Hawaiian gov20 erning entity and Native Hawaiians may not con21 duct gaming activities as a matter of claimed inher22 ent authority or under the authority of any Federal 

23 law, including the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 

24 (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) or under any regulations 


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1 thereunder promulgated by the Secretary or the Na2 tional Indian Gaming Commission. 

3 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The prohibition contained 

4 in paragraph (1) regarding the use of Indian Gam5 ing Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) and in6 herent authority to game applies regardless of 

7 whether gaming by Native Hawaiians or the Native 

8 Hawaiian governing entity would be located on land 

9 within the State of Hawaii or within any other State 

10 or territory of the United States. 

11 (b) SINGLE GOVERNING ENTITY.—This Act will re12 sult in the recognition of the single Native Hawaiian gov13 erning entity. Additional Native Hawaiian groups shall not 

14 be eligible for acknowledgment pursuant to the Federal 

15 Acknowledgment Process set forth in part 83 of title 25, 

16 Code of Federal Regulations, or any other administrative 

17 acknowledgment or recognition process. 

18 (c) INDIAN CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1968.—The Coun19 cil and the subsequent governing entity recognized under 

20 this Act shall be an Indian tribe, as defined in section 201 

21 of the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1301) 

22 for purposes of sections 201 through 203 of that Act (25 

23 U.S.C. 1301–1303). 

24 (d) INDIAN PROGRAMS, SERVICES, AND LAWS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of this Act, nothing in this Act extends eli3 gibility for any Indian program or service to the Na4 tive Hawaiian governing entity or its members un5 less a statute governing such a program or service 

6 expressly provides that Native Hawaiians or the Na7 tive Hawaiian governing entity is eligible for such 

8 program or service. Nothing in this Act affects the 

9 eligibility of any person for any program or service 

10 under any statute or law in effect before the date of 

11 enactment of this Act. 

12 (2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER TERMS.—In Fed13 eral statutes or regulations in force prior to the 

14 United States’ recognition of the Native Hawaiian 

15 governing entity, the terms ‘‘Indian’’ and ‘‘Native 

16 American’’, and references to Indian tribes, bands, 

17 nations, pueblos, villages, or other organized groups 

18 or communities, shall not apply to the Native Ha19 waiian governing entity or its members, unless the 

20 Federal statute or regulation expressly applies to 

21 Native Hawaiians or the Native Hawaiian governing 

22 entity. 

23 (e) REAL PROPERTY TRANSFERS.—Section 2116 of 

24 the Revised Statutes (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian 

25 Trade and Intercourse Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 177) does not 


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1 apply to any purchase, grant, lease, or other conveyance 

2 of lands, or of any title or claim thereto, from Native Ha3 waiians, Native Hawaiian entities, or the Kingdom of Ha4 waii that occurred prior to the date of the United States 

5 recognition of the Native Hawaiian governing entity. 

6 SEC. 11. SEVERABILITY. 

7 If any section or provision of this Act is held invalid, 

8 it is the intent of Congress that the remaining sections 

9 or provisions shall continue in full force and effect. 

10 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

12 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native Hawaiian Gov15 ernment Reorganization Act of 2012’’. 

16 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

17 Congress finds that— 

18 (1) the United States has continually recognized 

19 and reaffirmed that— 

20 (A) the Native Hawaiian people today are 

21 the political successors to the indigenous, native 

22 people who exercised original sovereignty over 

23 the Hawaiian Islands; 


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1 (B) the Native Hawaiian people have never 

2 relinquished their claims to sovereignty or their 

3 sovereign lands; 

4 (C) the special political and legal relation5 ship of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and 

6 Native Hawaiians to the United States arises 

7 out of their status as indigenous, native peoples 

8 of the United States; and 

9 (D) the Native Hawaiian people are a dis10 tinctly native community and one of the indige11 nous, native peoples of the United States; 

12 (2) the Constitution vests Congress with the au13 thority to address the conditions of the indigenous, 

14 native peoples of the United States under provisions 

15 including— 

16 (A) clause 3 of section 8 of article I, the 

17 Property, Treaty, and Supremacy clauses, and 

18 the War Powers clause; and 

19 (B) the original Apportionment clause and 

20 the Fourteenth Amendment Citizenship and 

21 amended Apportionment clauses; 

22 (3) Congress has exercised constitutional author23 ity to address the conditions of the Native Hawaiian 

24 people 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 the Native Hawaiian 

9 people; 

10 (4) the United States has recognized and re11 affirmed the special political and legal relationship 

12 between the United States and the Native Hawaiian 

13 people through the enactment of the Act entitled ‘‘An 

14 Act to provide for the admission of the State of Ha15 waii into the Union’’, approved March 18, 1959 

16 (Public Law 86–3; 73 Stat. 4), by— 

17 (A) delegating broad authority to the State 

18 of Hawaii to administer some of the responsibil19 ities of the United States, as those responsibil20 ities relate to the Native Hawaiian people and 

21 their lands; 

22 (B) ceding to the State of Hawaii title to 

23 the public land formerly held by the United 

24 States, and mandating that those lands be held 

25 as a public trust for 5 purposes, 1 of which is 


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1 the betterment of the conditions of the Native 

2 Hawaiian people; and 

3 (C) transferring the responsibility of the 

4 United States for the administration of the Ha5 waiian Home Lands to the State of Hawaii, but 

6 retaining the exclusive right to consent to any 

7 actions affecting the lands included in the trust 

8 and any amendments to the Hawaiian Homes 

9 Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108, chapter 

10 42), that are enacted by the legislature of the 

11 State of Hawaii affecting the beneficiaries under 

12 that Act; 

13 (5) on November 23, 1993, the Joint Resolution 

14 of November 23, 1993 (Public Law 103–150; 107 

15 Stat. 1510) (commonly known as the ‘‘Apology Reso16 lution’’), was enacted into law, extending an apology 

17 on behalf of the United States to the Native Hawaiian 

18 people for the role of the United States in the over19 throw of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and acknowledging 

20 that the Native Hawaiian people never directly relin21 quished to the United States their claims to their in22 herent sovereignty as a people over their national 

23 lands, either through the Kingdom of Hawaii or 

24 through a plebiscite or referendum; 


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1 (6) pursuant to Public Law 103–150, on October 

2 23, 2000, the Department of Justice and the Depart3 ment of the Interior released a report entitled ‘‘From 

4 Mauka to Makai: The River of Justice Must Flow 

5 Freely’’, recommending that Congress enact legisla6 tion ‘‘to create a framework for recognizing a govern7 ment-to-government relationship with a representative 

8 Native Hawaiian governing body’’; 

9 (7) on December 16, 2010, the United States an10 nounced its support for the United Nations Declara11 tion on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Resolution 

12 61/295, adopted September 13, 2007), which includes 

13 the Native Hawaiian people and states that indige14 nous peoples possess— 

15 (A) the right to self-determination and to 

16 freely determine their political status and freely 

17 pursue their economic, social, and cultural devel18 opment; and 

19 (B) the right to autonomy or self-govern20 ment in matters relating to their internal and 

21 local affairs; and 

22 (8) the State of Hawaii has long supported the 

23 Federal reaffirmation of the special political and 

24 legal relationship with the Native Hawaiian people 

25 and a recognition of the Native Hawaiian governing 


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1 entity by the United States, as evidenced by numer2 ous actions, including through the enactment of Act 

3 195 (2011), which— 

4 (A) recognizes the Native Hawaiian people 

5 as the only indigenous, native people of Hawaii; 

6 (B) urges Federal recognition of the Native 

7 Hawaiian people and the Native Hawaiian gov8 erning entity; and 

9 (C) creates the Native Hawaiian Roll Com10 mission to develop a roll of qualified Native Ha11 waiians to facilitate the reorganization of a Na12 tive Hawaiian governing entity. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

16 Interim Governing Council established under section 

17 5(c). 

18 (2) INDIGENOUS, NATIVE PEOPLE.—The term 

19 ‘‘indigenous, native people’’ means any of the peoples 

20 referred to in the Constitution as ‘‘Indians’’ and 

21 ‘‘Tribes’’ that are the original inhabitants who exer22 cised sovereignty over any area that later became part 

23 of the United States, including their lineal descend24 ants. 


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1 (3) NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOVERNING ENTITY.—The 

2 term ‘‘Native Hawaiian governing entity’’ means the 

3 representative sovereign governing body of the Native 

4 Hawaiian people reorganized under section 5. 

5 (4) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ROLL COMMISSION.—The 

6 term ‘‘Native Hawaiian Roll Commission’’ means the 

7 Commission established by the State of Hawaii under 

8 Act 195 (2011). 

9 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of the Interior. 

11 (6) SPECIAL POLITICAL AND LEGAL RELATION12 SHIP.—The term ‘‘special political and legal relation13 ship’’ means the nature of the relationship between 

14 the United States and federally recognized Indian 

15 tribes. 

16 SEC. 4. POLICY AND PURPOSE. 

17 (a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 

18 that— 

19 (1) Congress possesses and exercises the constitu20 tional authority to address the conditions of the Na21 tive Hawaiian people; 

22 (2) the Native Hawaiian people have— 

23 (A) an inherent right to autonomy in inter24 nal affairs; 


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1 (B) an inherent right of self-determination 

2 and self-governance; 

3 (C) the right to reorganize a Native Hawai4 ian governing entity; and 

5 (D) the right to become economically self6 sufficient; 

7 (3) notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

8 the United States— 

9 (A) reaffirms the special political and legal 

10 relationship between the United States and the 

11 Native Hawaiian people, which includes pro12 moting the welfare of the Native Hawaiian peo13 ple; and 

14 (B) reaffirms the authority delegated to the 

15 State of Hawaii by the United States to address 

16 the conditions of the Native Hawaiian people in 

17 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the ad18 mission of the State of Hawaii into the Union’’, 

19 approved March 18, 1959 (Public Law 86–3; 73 

20 Stat. 4); 

21 (4) the United States ensures parity in policy 

22 and treatment among all indigenous groups with 

23 which the United States has a special political and 

24 legal relationship; and 


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

2 a process of reconciliation and political relations with 

3 the Native Hawaiian people. 

4 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

5 a process for the reorganization and Federal recognition of 

6 a single Native Hawaiian governing entity that exercises 

7 the inherent powers of self-government of a native govern8 ment under existing law with the same privileges and im9 munities available to other federally recognized Indian 

10 tribes. 

11 SEC. 5. REORGANIZATION OF THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN GOV12 ERNING ENTITY. 

13 (a) RIGHT TO REORGANIZE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The right of the Native Ha15 waiian people to reorganize a Native Hawaiian gov16 erning entity to provide for the common welfare and 

17 to adopt an appropriate constitution and bylaws pur18 suant to section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 

19 U.S.C. 476), is recognized by the United States. 

20 (2) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—In accordance with 

21 the recognition under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

22 shall carry out the duties and functions of the Sec23 retary pursuant to this section as soon as practicable 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (b) MEMBERS.—The individuals listed on the roll com2 piled and certified by the Native Hawaiian Roll Commis3 sion shall be considered members of the Native Hawaiian 

4 people for the purposes of reorganization of a Native Ha5 waiian governing entity, provided that the roll is published, 

6 available for inspection, and compiled in accordance with 

7 applicable due process principles. 

8 (c) INTERIM GOVERNING COUNCIL.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The members included on 

10 the roll described in subsection (b), in consultation 

11 with the Secretary, shall establish a council, to be 

12 known as the ‘‘Interim Governing Council’’, by— 

13 (A) developing criteria based on which can14 didates included on the roll may be elected to 

15 serve on the Council; 

16 (B) determining the structure of the Coun17 cil, including the number of Council members; 

18 and 

19 (C) electing Council members. 

20 (2) POWERS.—The Council— 

21 (A) shall represent the members included on 

22 the membership roll in the implementation of 

23 this Act; 

24 (B) shall have no powers other than the 

25 powers provided to the Council by this Act; and 


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1 (C) may enter into a contract with, or ob2 tain a grant from, any Federal, State, or local 

3 government agency or any private nonprofit or 

4 entity to carry out the duties of the Council 

5 under paragraph (3). 

6 (3) DUTIES.—Not later than 2 years after the 

7 date on which all members of the Council are elected, 

8 the Council shall— 

9 (A) secure appropriate input from members 

10 included on the roll, through consultation, 

11 referenda, or other means, regarding the pro12 posed elements of the constitution and bylaws for 

13 the Native Hawaiian governing entity; 

14 (B) develop a proposed constitution and by15 laws for the Native Hawaiian governing entity; 

16 (C) provide to all members the proposed 

17 constitution and bylaws, as drafted by the Coun18 cil, including a brief, objective description of 

19 each such provision; 

20 (D) not earlier than 90 days after the date 

21 of completion of the requirements of subpara22 graph (C), submit to the Secretary a request to 

23 hold an election to ratify the proposed constitu24 tion and bylaws; and 


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1 (E) on ratification, submit to the Secretary 

2 the constitution and bylaws for approval under 

3 section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 

4 476). 

5 (4) ELECTIONS.—The Council, with the assist6 ance of the Secretary, shall hold elections of the offi7 cers of the Native Hawaiian governing entity identi8 fied in the approved constitution and bylaws. 

9 (5) TERMINATION.—The Council shall cease to 

10 exist and shall have no power or authority under this 

11 Act after the date on which all officers of the Native 

12 Hawaiian governing entity elected under paragraph 

13 (4) are installed. 

14 SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER FEDERAL LAWS. 

15 (a) GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY AND POWER.—The 

16 Native Hawaiian governing entity shall— 

17 (1) have the inherent powers and privileges of 

18 self-government of an Indian tribe under applicable 

19 Federal law, including the inherent power and au20 thority— 

21 (A) to determine membership in, and mem22 bership criteria for, the Native Hawaiian people; 

23 and 

24 (B) to grant, deny, revoke, or qualify mem25 bership without regard to whether any indiVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:33 Dec 17, 2012 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S675.RS S675

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1 vidual is considered to be a member of the Native 

2 Hawaiian people under this Act; and 

3 (2) be considered to be an Indian tribe for pur4 poses of section 104 of the Federally Recognized In5 dian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a–1). 

6 (b) INDIAN GAMING REGULATORY ACT.—The Native 

7 Hawaiian governing entity— 

8 (1) is subject to the Indian Gaming Regulatory 

9 Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) (including regulations 

10 promulgated pursuant to that Act by the Secretary or 

11 the National Indian Gaming Commission); and 

12 (2) may not conduct gaming activities (within 

13 the meaning of section 4 of that Act (25 U.S.C. 

14 2703)) unless the State of Hawaii permits such an 

15 activity for any purpose by an individual, organiza16 tion, or entity. 

17 (c) INDIAN REORGANIZATION ACT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may consider 

19 the Native Hawaiian governing entity to be an In20 dian tribe for purposes of carrying out any activity 

21 authorized under the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly 

22 known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’) (25 

23 U.S.C. 461 et seq.). 

24 (2) RATIFICATION AND CONFIRMATION OF AC25 TIONS.—Any action taken by the Secretary pursuant 


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1 to the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the 

2 ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) 

3 for the Native Hawaiian governing entity is ratified 

4 and confirmed to the extent that the action is chal5 lenged based on the question of whether the Native 

6 Hawaiian governing entity was federally recognized 

7 or under Federal jurisdiction on June 18, 1934. 

8 SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY. 

9 If any provision of this Act is held invalid, it is the 

10 intent of Congress that the remaining provisions shall con11 tinue in full force and effect. 

12 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

14 are necessary to carry out this Act. 


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Calendar No. 568 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 675 

[Report No. 112–251] 

A BILL 

To express the policy of the United States regardwaiian governing entity. ognition by the United States of the Native Ha- Hawaiians and to provide a process for the rec- ing the United States relationship with Native 

DECEMBER 17, 2012 

Reported with an amendment 


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