By Kate Gardiner
3/24/2008 4:32:47 PM
The Molokai Times
HONOLULU-- A bill that would have settled the long-standing ceded (Hawaiian monarchy) lands dispute failed in committee March 17.
Sen. Clayton Hee (D-23rd) said the decision to kill a bill that would have settled the ceded lands dispute for $15mil per year, or about $200 million, was a wise one.
On the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Hee, who is one of two members of the state senate with Hawaiian ancestry, said, “There is no basis for the magic number, [$200 million.] … [The decision made to kill the bill] is about providing data to support the magic… being satisfied with the magic formula is patronizing. The lid needs to be lifted [from] confidentiality.”
Sen. Fred Hemmings (R-25th), argued that there was “wisdom in settling such a long-standing dispute… the magic [of settling the battle] benefits Hawaiians and the people.”
Sen. J. Kalani English (D-Molokai), the other native Hawaiian in the state senate, said “Fifteen million is not too much money.” He stated that when he was on Molokai recently, someone asked him why OHA should get the money, and not the Hawaiian people directly, and why the money should be paid in dollars.
“A static number doesn’t mean buying power,” he said. “The people in my district are not happy. They want closure and transparency…Yes, we’ve waited too long for the decision, but to get a better deal for my people, a year is worth it.”
According to the Star-Bulletin, attorney general Mark Bennett said...
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