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Governing Documents

Hawaiian Homes Commission Act

The legal basis for the establishment of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) is the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, as amended (HHCA). Passed by Congress and signed into law by President Warren Harding on July 9, 1921 (chapter 42, 42 Stat. 108), the HHCA provides for the rehabilitation of the native Hawaiian people through a government-sponsored homesteading program. Native Hawaiians are defined as individuals having at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood.

Pursuant to provisions of the HHCA, the Department provides direct benefits to native Hawaiians in the form of 99-year homestead leases at an annual rental of $1. In 1990, the Legislature authorized the Department to extend leases for an aggregate term not to exceed 199 years (Act 305, Session Laws of Hawaii 1990; section 208, HHCA). Homestead leases are for residential, agricultural, or pastoral purposes. Aquacultural leases are also authorized, but none have been awarded to date. The intent of the homesteading program is to provide for economic self-sufficiency of native Hawaiians through the provision of land.

Other benefits provided by the HHCA include financial assistance through direct loans or loan guarantees for home construction, replacement, or repair, and for the development of farms and ranches; technical assistance to farmers and ranchers; and the operation of water systems.

Administrative Rules

Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules Title 10 – DHHL – Eff. Oct. 26, 1998

Beneficiary Consultation/Public Hearings

Act 14

The legislature finds that when the United States Congress passed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 (HHCA) and set aside 203,500 acres, more or less, of public lands as Hawaiian home lands for the rehabilitation of native Hawaiians, the United States reaffirmed the trust responsibility it had assumed toward the Hawaiian people.

The legislature also finds that under the Admission Act, the State of Hawaii assumed the trust responsibility to carry out the mandates of the HHCA. The legislature further finds that thousands of acres of Hawaiian home lands were allegedly used, disposed of, or withdrawn from the trust by territorial or state executive actions in contravention of the HHCA. In recognition of these allegations and toward their resolution, the legislature enacted Act 395, Session Laws of Hawaii 1988, which, among other actions, provided a limited waiver of sovereign immunity for breaches of the Hawaiian home lands trust from July 1, 1988 forward. Act 395 also required the governor to present a proposal to the legislature prior to the convening of the 1991 Regular Session to resolve controversies which arose between August 21, 1959 and July 1, 1988. The governor’s Action Plan to Address Controversies under the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust and the Public Land Trust (governor’s Action Plan) was accepted by the legislature pursuant to its adoption of
S.C.R. No. 185, H.D. 1, in 1991.

Act-14Download

Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act

The-Hawaiian-Home-Lands-Recovery-ActDownload

Affordable Housing Credits Policy

HHC_Affordable_Housing_PolicyDownload

Act 279

Act 279, SLH 2022, appropriates $600 million in general funds to provide a multi­-pronged approach to reduce the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Waiting List. The $600 million will address the needs of beneficiaries on the DHHL waitlist and those still waiting to get on the land.

Documents:

Act-279Download

Timeline:

Additional Information: