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With the June 21 intent to veto deadline quickly approaching, I implore Gov. David Ige to heed the concerns of the community and veto .

This measure would give the Board of Land and Natural Resources the ability to extend certain leases of public lands for commercial, industrial, resort, mixed-use, or government use upon approval of a proposed development agreement to make substantial improvements to the existing facilities.

As a Native Hawaiian legislator and one of the nine Senate members who voted in opposition to the bill, I cannot ignore the fact that we received hundreds of phone calls and emails from the public asking us to oppose this measure.

I am not opposed to development. However, what I do object to is the fact that this measure provides an exemption for the University of Hawaii but does not exempt lands managed by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Some have been led to believe this bill only affects lands that are under the Board of Land and Natural Resources. This is not the case. DHHL, as a state agency, through the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, must follow HRS Chapter 171 when leasing trust lands.

As specified in Section 204 of this Act, DHHL is prohibited from extending general leases if those lands are not required for homestead leasing. By not exempting DHHL like we have done for the University of Hawaii, this bill is a violation of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and is unconstitutional based on federal law that preempts state law.

Should this measure become law, the state would be allowing the opportunity for non-DHHL beneficiaries who lease DHHL lands to extend their current leases for another 40 years. Leases that last 100 years are too long and I believe that, with 28,000 Native Hawaiians on the waiting list, the department needs every acre of land in its inventory to help build homes for Native Hawaiians, before any general leases are allowed.

Currently, nearly 3,000 acres under general leases would be subject to this bill, and of these leases less than 1% are leased to Native Hawaiians. On Hawaii Island there are 72 leases on 740 acres, on Kauai there are six leases on 72 acres, on Molokai there are five leases on 1,762 acres and on Oahu there are 39 leases on 248 acres. This information can be found in the .

It is important to note the reason the University of Hawaii is excluded from this bill is because UH’s lease on Mauna Kea expires in 2033. If the University of Hawaii was not excluded in this bill, there would be thousands of angry constituents.

Also, what is conveniently not discussed is this bill has the potential to include “government leases” also under the jurisdiction of the Board of Land and Natural Resources. Leases at Pohakuloa, Makua Valley and Kokee are set to expire in 2029. This bill would open the door for the federal government to extend their leases for another 40 years.

For these reasons, I respectfully urge Gov. Ige to veto the public land lease extension legislation, House Bill 499.