Hawaiian Home Lands among things to watch at Legislature


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

HONOLULU (AP) — A coalition representing Native Hawaiian homesteaders has created a plan outlining ways to improve the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

Their plan calls on the state government to fully fund the department, which is responsible for administering the Hawaiian Home Lands Commission Act.

Representatives from the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and other groups will share their proposal with lawmakers in a joint meeting of Senate and House committees on Monday.

The plan was developed by beneficiaries of the act, who are supposed to have access to lands placed in trust for Native Hawaiians. It calls for more transparency and openness between the government and the beneficiaries of the land trust.

The Hawaii state house will be busy with committee hearings as it heads into its sixth full week. There will be a mandatory recess for the first three days, which means there will be no floor sessions until Thursday, and the focus will be on moving bills out of their final committees in each chamber. Here are a few other bills to watch:

— FERTILITY EQUALITY: Hawaii has a law that requires health insurers to cover in vitro fertilization treatments for some women who want to improve their chances at pregnancy. But the benefit is only there for married women, and some single ladies would like to see that changed. That bill is scheduled for decision making in the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection on Monday afternoon.

— SEX TRAFFICKING: Advocates for victims of sex trafficking are pushing the state to develop a comprehensive law to deal with the issue. The Senate Committee on Judiciary plans to make a decision on the proposal Tuesday morning

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent U.S. stories

Related topics

U.S.
CATHY BUSSEWITZ

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast