BY LEON SIU – The State House of Representatives Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, chaired by Rep. Faye Hanohano, held a hearing today on HB 1627 — a clone of the Akaka bill, modified for implementation by the State, instead of the Federal government.
Having failed for 10+ years to pass the infamous “federal recognition act” (Akaka bill), its chronic supporters, Akaka, Inouye, the Governor, OHA and DHHL, etc., now want the Fake State of Hawaii to ‘have a go’ at creating the “reorganized Native Hawaiian governing entity”…sort of an ‘Akaka bill lite.’
HB1627 is incredibly ridiculous on several levels, not the least of which is that the legislature of the State of Hawaii has no constitutional authority (either US or State) to spin off such a semi-autonomous governing body from itself. This is a pesky detail that apparently none of its advocates or legislators bothered to ask the attorney general or any other legal counsel. When you’re desperate, you make these kind of mistakes. Even as opposition testimonies pointed out the bill’s numerous inaccuracies, inconsistencies and false statements, the lawmakers remained clueless.
The only committee member who wondered out loud whether the object of HB 1627 was legal or not was Rep. Gene Ward. Nevertheless, he accepted the beat-around-the-bush answer from one of the proponents and the committee passed the measure, patting themselves on the back for opening up dialog about this important topic.
Opening up dialog? Hello!? Where have you been over the past 10 years while the Akaka bill was raging in Congress and we were screaming about this scheme to subjugate the Hawaiian people into an Indian tribe? Oh that’s right, all hearings and debates were kept 5,000 miles away in Washington, D.C. No wonder Hawaii’s legislators are so ignorant about the true nature of this bill.
The good thing is now the debate is here where it belongs…where we can really sink our claws into it.
Leon Siu is a Hawaiian activist and entertainer.
[…] Siu writes in the Hawai’i Reporter regarding the Akaka Bill. An excerpt: “The State House of Representatives Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, chaired by […]
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Leon Siu writes: “… the committee passed the measure, patting themselves on the back for opening up dialog about this important topic.”
The bill “status” says it was passed “with amendments.” The committee clerk told me that the only amendment was to change the effective date of the bill’s implementation to 2093. What? Yes, 2093 the clerk said, and added that the main purpose of the bill is to promote discussion. Well, I’m promising everyone that if this bill passes, I will personally go down to the legislature in 2093 with a protest sign. Hmmm … I wonder why they chose the date of 2093. [Hint: January 17]
One thing I do know. Rep. Gene Ward voted “Yes with reservations.” Charles Djou was defeated, perhaps because he favored the Akaka bill. Maybe we need to defeat Gene Ward, who also wears the “R” on his forehead in the same crooked orientation. I suspect Ward’s main “reservation” is for a night at the Akaka tribe’s casino.
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