STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1203

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 272

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 272, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

 

Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission

 

G.M. No. 272

MICAH A. KANE,

for a term to expire 12-31-2010,

 

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee reviewed the personal statement and resume submitted by the nominee, and finds Micah A. Kane to have the necessary qualifications to be nominated as the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Micah A. Kane from the Attorney General; the Adjutant General and Director of Civil Defense; the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; the University of Hawaii – West Oahu; the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; a Council Member, City and County of Honolulu; Castle and Cooke Hawaii; the Pacific Indigenous Resource Management Institute; the Hawaii Forest Industry Association; the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce; the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs; the Waianae Hawaiian Civic Club; the Queen Deborah Kapule Hawaiian Civic Club; the Princess Kaiulani Hawaiian Civic Club; the Prince Kuhio Hawaiian Civic Club; the Pearl Harbor Hawaiian Civic Club; the Nanaikapono Hawaiian Civic Club; the Kuini Piolani Hawaiian Civic Club; the Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club; the Hoolehua Hawaiian Civic Club; the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu; the Hawaiian Civic Club of Hilo; the Alii Pauahi Hawaiian Civic Club; the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club (Ahahui Siwila Hawaii O Kapolei); God's Country Waimanalo; the State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations; the Waianae Kai Homestead Association; the Waianae Valley Homestead Community Association; the Waimanalo Hawaiian Homes Association; the Papakolea Community Association; the Kaniohale Community Association of the Villages of Laiopua; the Waiohuli Hawaiian Homesteaders Association, Inc.; the Waimea Hawaiian Homesteaders' Association, Inc.; the Nanakuli Hawaiian Homestead Community Association; the Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO; the United Public Workers, AFSCME Local 646, AFL-CIO; the Hawaii Carpenters Union; the Local Laborers' Union Local 368; the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 50; the United Association of Plumbers and Fitters, Local 675; the Hawaii Operating Engineers Industry Stabilization Fund; the General Contractors Association of Hawaii; the Building Industry Association of Hawaii; the Hawaii Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO; and twenty-one individuals.

 

     The Molokai Homestead Farmers Alliance, the Hoolehua Homesteaders Association, and the Hoolehua Homestead Agriculture Association submitted concerns regarding the nomination of Micah A. Kane.  One individual submitted comments to your Committee.

 

     Micah A. Kane was appointed as the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission and Director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in 2003.  Previously, Mr. Kane was the Chairperson and Executive Director of the Hawaii Republican Party from 1999 to 2002 where he managed and carried out goals and objectives set forth by the Chairperson and the Executive Committee of the Party.  As the Government Affairs Liaison for the Building Industry Association of Hawaii, from 1994 to 1999, he managed all government affairs activities at the federal, state, and county levels that pertained to the Hawaii construction industry.  His service at the Building Industry Association of Hawaii provided Mr. Kane with a foundation to better understand the construction and development industry and establish key contacts in both the private construction labor community and development community, which would be valuable assets for the Hawaiian Homes Commission later on.

 

     Mr. Kane is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools, received his Bachelor of Business Administration, Cum Laude, from Menlo College, and received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  He has extensive community involvement, including serving as a member on the Governor's Affordable Housing Task Force; on the Board of Directors of Education 1st Hawaii, Inc.; on the Kamehameha Schools Board of Advisors; and on the Board of Directors of the Konishiki Kids Foundation.  Mr. Kane also has received numerous awards, such as the United Way – Spirit of Community Award, the Building Industry Association's Housing Advocate of the Year, a Football Induction into Menlo College Hall of Fame, and the Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs' Hooulu Leadership Award for Government.

 

     Overwhelming testimony indicates that Mr. Kane has a passionate desire to serve the Native Hawaiian community and move the Hawaiian Home Lands Program forward.  He is open to new ideas and because the concept of ohana is important to him, he has improved efforts to consult with the beneficiaries regarding regional plans and actions occurring on or affecting homestead lands.  He has a genuine concern for the employees of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, has the courage to make tough decisions or support an unpopular position that he believes is right for the homestead community, and exudes self-confidence.

 

     Your Committee finds that under Mr. Kane's leadership, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has been able to award a record number of leases to Native Hawaiians who are eligible to be beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust.  This achievement is remarkable in light of his short tenure.  Under his leadership, the Department has awarded nearly six thousand leases as compared to seven thousand two hundred leases over the entire history of the Department.  The acceleration of lease awards, development of new programs, and community outreach by the Department has repositioned the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust to be one of the largest residential developers in the State.

 

     Your Committee further finds that Mr. Kane has developed new strategies that address the need for more affordable housing for the Native Hawaiian community.  The Department has established a new program called the Home Ownership Assistance Program (HOAP) for the purpose of empowering beneficiaries to qualify and purchase or construct homes on homestead land.  HOAP has already placed nearly one hundred families into homes and has successfully prepared nearly four hundred additional families who currently are waiting for their homes to be built.  Future plans for the HOAP include employment training and opportunities and social services support.

 

     Your Committee further finds that Mr. Kane is dedicated to accomplishing further goals for the Department and the Hawaiian homestead communities by settling more individual claims and lawsuits, which will allow the Department to mesh past issues with current successes.  He wishes to address budgetary concerns, especially with respect to infrastructure development, further regional development plans and encourage further beneficiary consultation and inter-regional communication, and institutionalizing the HOAP to keep families on the land and in their homes.

 

     Your Committee noted concerns indicated in submitted testimony regarding the management of the Molokai Irrigation System and protecting the water rights of the homestead residents that the irrigation system serves.  Mr. Kane indicated a willingness to address this issue and develop solutions to improve the water system in cooperation with the appropriate agencies and with the advice from the affected beneficiaries.  The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is currently studying the system and he expects that the Department will be able to present a set of solutions for consideration in the near future.

 

     To this end, your Committee further finds that Mr. Kane's evidenced commitment to the ideals and values of integrity, duty, respect, loyalty, and public service combined with his rich experience and heightened understanding of the multi-faceted components of the Native Hawaiian community make him the best nominee to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

 


Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs,

 

 

 

____________________________

RUSSELL S. KOKUBUN, Chair