Nelson v. Hawaiian Homes Commission

***FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI #I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER***

Electronically Filed
Supreme Court
SCWC-30110
09-MAY-2012
02:10 PM

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I
---o0o---

RICHARD NELSON III, KALIKO CHUN, JAMES AKIONA, SR.,
SHERILYN ADAMS, KELII IOANE, JR., and CHARLES AIPIA (deceased),
Respondents/Plaintiffs/Appellants,
vs.
HAWAIIAN HOMES COMMISSION, THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS,
ALAPAKI NAHALE-A, in his official capacity as Chair of the
Hawaiian Homes Commission, IMAIKALANI P. AIU, PERRY ARTATES,
LEIMANA K. DAMATE, JEREMY KAMAKANEOALOHA HOPKINS, MICHAEL P.
KAHIKINA, IAN LEE LOY, HENRY K. TANCAYO, and RENWICK V. I.
TASSILL, in their official capacities as members of the Hawaiian
Homes Commission,1 Respondents/Defendants/Appellees,
and
KALBERT K. YOUNG, in his official capacity as the State Director of
Finance, and the STATE OF HAWAI#I, Petitioners/Defendants/Appellees.

SCWC-30110
CERTIORARI TO THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
(ICA NO. 30110; CIVIL NO. 07-1-1663-08)
May 9, 2012
RECKTENWALD, C.J., NAKAYAMA, ACOBA, DUFFY, AND MCKENNA, JJ.

1
During the pendency of this action, Alapaki Nahale-a succeeded
Kaulana H. R. Park as the Chair of the Hawaiian Homes Commission; and Michael
P. Kahikina and Renwick V. I. Tassill succeeded Trish Morikawa and Donald S.
M. Chang as members of the Hawaiian Homes Commission. Thus, pursuant to
Hawai#i Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 43(c)(1), Nahale-a, Kahikina, and
Tassill have been substituted automatically for Park, Morikawa, and Chang in
this case.

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OPINION OF THE COURT BY MCKENNA, J.
I. Introduction
We are presented with one question:

Does the political question doctrine bar Hawaiian Homes
Commission Act (HHCA) beneficiaries from using Haw. Const.
Article XII, Section 1's “sufficient sums” provision to
demand more legislative funding of the Department of
Hawaiian Home lands (DHHL), when that provision provides no
guidance at all as to how quickly homesteads must be
developed?

At issue is the interpretation of Article XII, Section

1 of the Hawai#i State Constitution, which now provides:

Anything in this constitution to the contrary
notwithstanding, the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920,
enacted by the Congress, as the same has been or may be
amended prior to the admission of the State, is hereby
adopted as a law of the State, subject to amendment or
repeal by the legislature; provided that if and to the
extent that the United States shall so require, such law
shall be subject to amendment or repeal only with the
consent of the United States and in no other manner;
provided further that if the United States shall have been
provided or shall provide that particular provisions or
types of provisions of such Act may be amended in the manner
required for ordinary state legislation, such provisions or
types of provisions may be so amended. The proceeds and
income from Hawaiian home lands shall be used only in
accordance with the terms and spirit of such Act. The
legislature shall make sufficient sums available for the
following purposes: (1) development of home, agriculture,
farm and ranch lots; (2) home, agriculture, aquaculture,
farm and ranch loans; (3) rehabilitation projects to
include, but not limited to, educational, economic,
political, social and cultural processes by which the
general welfare and conditions of native Hawaiians are
thereby improved; (4) the administration and operating
budget of the department of Hawaiian home lands; in
furtherance of (1), (2), (3) and (4) herein, by
appropriating the same in the manner provided by law.

Thirty percent of the state receipts derived from the
leasing of cultivated sugarcane lands under any provision of
law or from water licenses shall be transferred to the
native Hawaiian rehabilitation fund, section 213 of the
Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, for the purposes
enumerated in that section. Thirty percent of the state
receipts derived from the leasing of lands cultivated as
sugarcane lands on the effective date of this section shall
continue to be so transferred to the native Hawaiian
rehabilitation fund whenever such lands are sold, developed,

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leased, utilized, transferred, set aside or otherwise
disposed of for purposes other than the cultivation of
sugarcane. There shall be no ceiling established for the
aggregate amount transferred into the native Hawaiian
rehabilitation fund.

We hold that the 1978 Constitutional Convention history

provides judicially discoverable and manageable standards, as

well as initial policy determinations, as to what constitutes

“sufficient sums” for DHHL’s administrative and operating

expenses only; therefore, judicial determination of “sufficient

sums” as to that purpose under Article XII, Section 1 of the

Hawai#i State Constitution is not barred as a nonjusticiable

political question, and the ICA did not err in so holding.

However, Article XII, Section 1 and the 1978 Constitutional

Convention do not shed light on what would constitute “sufficient

sums” for (1) development of home, agriculture, farm and ranch

lots; (2) home, agriculture, aquaculture, farm and ranch loans;

and (3) rehabilitation projects. Therefore, the political

question doctrine bars judicial determination of what would

constitute “sufficient sums” for those purposes, and the ICA

erred in concluding otherwise.

II. Background

A. The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act; Article XII, Section
1 of the Hawai#i Constitution; and the 1978 Constitutional
Convention

Concerned about the condition of the native Hawaiian

people, Congress enacted the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act

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(“HHCA”) in 1921 to set aside about 203,500 acres of ceded lands

for native Hawaiian homesteads. Hawaiian Homes Commission Act,

1920, 67 Pub L. 34, 42 Stat. 108 (1921); see also Rice v.

Cayetano, 528 U.S. 495, 507 (2000). Prince Jonah Kuhio

Kalanianaole, Hawai#i’s congressional delegate at the time, was

instrumental in shepherding the Act through Congress, arguing

that native Hawaiians “were entitled to a share of the lands that

had been ‘ceded’ from the Republic of Hawaii to the United States

in 1898 because they had not obtained their fair share of the

lands distributed during the Mahele.” Jon Van Dyke, Who Owns the

Crown Lands of Hawai#i? 239-40 (2008). Prince Kuhio spoke of the

native Hawaiians’ right to the land as follows: “Perhaps we have

a legal right, certainly we have a moral right, to ask that these

lands be set aside. We are not asking that what you are to do be

in the nature of a largesse or as a grant, but as a matter of

justice -- belated justice.” Id. at 241.

Under the Act, native Hawaiians (those of fifty percent

blood quantum or more) could obtain 99-year leases for a dollar a

year for residential, pastoral, and agricultural lots. See

Native Hawaiian Rights Handbook 43 (Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie

ed., 1991). One purpose of the HHCA was to “save” the native

Hawaiian race by “tak[ing] [native Hawaiians] back to the lands

and giv[ing] them the mode of living that their ancestors were

accustomed to and in that way rehabilitate them.” Ahuna v. Dept.
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of Hawaiian Home Lands, 64 Haw. 327, 336 n.10, 640 P.2d 1161,

1167 n.10 (1982) (quoting Senator John H. Wise, H. R. Rep. No.

839, 66th Cong., 2d Sess. 4 (1920)).

The Act also appeased Hawai#i’s large-scale

agricultural interests at the time. Hundreds of thousands of

acres of prime agricultural land leased to these sugar and

ranching interests were set to expire between 1917 and 1921, and

the passage of the Act prevented the return of those lands to the

pool of land available for homesteading. See Native Hawaiian

Rights Handbook 45. In fact, the Act specifically designated

cultivated cane lands as unavailable for Hawaiian homesteads.

See id. at 17 (citing HHCA § 203). The lands remaining for

Hawaiian homesteads were “arid and of marginal value,” and many

were “actually lava rock.” Id. Most of the land was in “remote

locations,” on the “dry, leeward side of each island, generally

with poor soils and rough terrain, more difficult and costly to

develop,” and without water -- parcels famously described as

“lands that a goat couldn’t live on.” Van Dyke, Who Owns the

Crown Lands of Hawai#i? 248. Diversified agriculture did not

succeed on these lands; consequently, the homestead program

focused its attention on providing houselots and some pasture

lands. See Native Hawaiian Rights Handbook 17-18.

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In 1959, Hawai#i entered the union. As a condition of

admission to statehood, the federal government conveyed the

200,000+ acres of home lands to the State, and the State was

required to adopt the HHCA under its constitution. See Haw.

Const. Art. XII, § 2. Through Section 2, the State of Hawai#i

“accepted specific trust obligations relating to the management

of the Hawaiian home lands imposed by the federal government.”

Ahuna, 64 Haw. at 337, 640 P.2d at 1168.

Before the Constitutional Convention of 1978, the last

sentence of the first paragraph of Article XI, Section 1 of the

Hawai#i Constitution, which related to how the State should fund

DHHL to fulfill its trust obligations, read as follows:

The proceeds and income from Hawaiian home lands shall be
used only in accordance with the terms of said Act, and the
legislature may, from time to time, make additional sums
available for the purposes of said Act by appropriating the
same in the manner provided by law.

(emphasis added). Accordingly, the Legislature, prior to 1978,

had discretion to fund (or not fund) DHHL.

Unfortunately, the State was not much more successful

than the federal government in fulfilling its constitutional

duties. See Kalima v. State, 111 Hawai#i 84, 88, 137 P.3d 990,

994 (2006). In 1979, the Hawai#i electorate voted to amend

Article XI, Section 1, renumbered as Article XII, Section 1, to

replace the last sentence of the first paragraph, quoted above,

with the following language:

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The legislature shall make sufficient sums available for the
following purposes: (1) development of home, agriculture,
farm and ranch lots; (2) home, agriculture, aquaculture,
farm and ranch loans; (3) rehabilitation projects to
include, but not limited to, educational, economic,
political, social and cultural processes by which the
general welfare and conditions of native Hawaiians are
thereby improved; (4) the administration and operating
budget of the department of Hawaiian home lands; in
furtherance of (1), (2), (3), and (4) herein, by
appropriating the same in the manner provided by law.

(emphasis added). Thus, through this amendment, the

discretionary funding language was changed to mandatory funding

language.

Nearly three decades after the 1978 Hawai#i

Constitutional Convention, Article XII, Section 1 and its

constitutional convention history serve as the basis for

Plaintiffs’ claims for relief.

B. Procedural History

1. Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint

On October 19, 2007, Plaintiffs Richard Nelson III,

Kaliko Chun, James Akiona, Sr., Sherilyn Adams, Kelii Ioane, Jr.,

and Charles Aipia (“Plaintiffs”) filed a First Amended Complaint

for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“FAC”) against Defendants

Georgina K. Kawamura, in her official capacity as the State

Director of Finance; the State of Hawai#i (collectively, “State

Defendants”); the Hawaiian Homes Commission; the Department of

Hawaiian Home Lands; Micah Kane, in his official capacity as

Chair of the Hawaiian Homes Commission; and Perry Artates, Billie

Baclig, Donald S. M. Chang, Stuart Hanchett, Malia Kamaka,

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Francis Lum, Trish Morikawa, and Milton Pa, in their capacities

as members of the Hawaiian Homes Commission (“DHHL Defendants”).2

In their FAC, the Plaintiffs set forth the following factual

summary of the current state of affairs of the Hawaiian Home

Lands:

[T]he Hawaiian Homes Commission, the Department of
Hawaiian Home Lands and the State of Hawai#i have ignored
this mandate [that the legislature shall make sufficient
sums available to the DHHL to carry out its mission of
rehabilitating native Hawaiian beneficiaries]. The State of
Hawai#i has failed to provide sufficient funds to the
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to minimize the number and
waiting time on its waiting lists for homesteads to a
reasonable level. Instead of obtaining necessary funds from
the Legislature, the Hawaiian Homes Commission and the
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands have continued to offer
commercial leases to non-Hawaiian entities in order to raise
revenue. This removal of Hawaiian Home Lands from use by
beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust, and the
failure to seek sufficient funds[,] are breaches of the
State Constitution and the trust.
Because the State of Hawai#i has failed to provide
sufficient funds to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands,
the Department and the Hawaiian Homes Commission have
improperly attempted to lease approximately 200 acres of
land at Kealakehe on Hawai#i Island in order to raise
revenues.

Plaintiffs alleged in Count 1 of the FAC that the State

violated its constitutional duty to sufficiently fund the

Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in order to rehabilitate native

Hawaiian beneficiaries, under the Hawai#i State Constitution.

Plaintiffs further alleged the following in Count 1 of

the FAC:

61. In 1979, the voters of Hawai#i ratified an amendment
passed by the 1978 Hawai#i Constitutional Convention
delegates which specifically required the Legislature to

2
The original complaint was filed on September 6, 2007.

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provide the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands “sufficient
sums” to pay for its trust programs and operating budget.

62. Under Haw. Const., Art. XII, § 1, the legislature must
make sufficient funds available for the following purposes:
(1) development of home, agriculture, farm and ranch lots;
(2) home, agriculture, aquaculture, farm and ranch loans;
(3) rehabilitation projects to include, but not limited to,
educational, economic, political, social and cultural
processes by which the general welfare and conditions of
native Hawaiians are thereby improved; (4) the
administration and operating budget of the department of
Hawaiian home lands; in furtherance of (1), (2), (3), and
(4) herein, by appropriating the same in the manner provided
by law.

63. Furthermore, under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act §
219.1, the Defendants are obligated to assist the lessees in
obtaining maximum use of their leased lands, including
taking any steps necessary to develop these lands for their
highest and best use commensurate with the purposes for
which the land is being leased, and assisting the lessees in
all phases of farming, ranching, and aquaculture operations
and the marketing of their agriculture [or] aquacultural
produce and livestock.

64. Hawaiian homestead beneficiaries cannot achieve the
lofty aims of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act unless they
are awarded homesteads timely and provided sufficient
assistance to maximize their utilization of those lands for
the purposes set out in the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.

65. Payments made pursuant to Act 14, 1995 Special Session,
do not diminish funds that the Department of Hawaiian Home
Lands is entitled to pursuant to Article XII, section 1 of
the Constitution of the State of Hawai#i. 3

66. Accordingly, the compensation for the past breaches of
trust by the State under Act 14 is exclusive of the
“sufficient sums” to which the DHHL is entitled pursuant to
Article XII, section 1 of the Constitution of the State of
Hawai#i.

67. The infrastructure cost to develop Hawaiian Home Land
lots on average is approximately $100,000 per lot.

3
Act 14 of the 1995 Special Session provided DHHL with $600,000,000
(payable in $30,000,000 increments over 20 years) to compensate the department
for lands improperly conveyed during the territorial period. See 1995 Haw.
Sess. Laws Act 14, at 696-703. Act 14 specifically states, “Payments made
under this Act shall not diminish funds that the department is entitled to
under article XII, section 1, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.”
Id. at 701.

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68. According to Hawaiian Homes Commission Chair Micah
Kane, “The model is there, the projects are there, the
momentum is there. Now, it’s just an issue of money.”

69. According to Hawaiian Homes Commission Chair Micah
Kane, a conservative estimate of the funding necessary for
infrastructure to place one thousand homesteaders each on
homestead lands each year is $100,000,000 annually.

70. In contrast, other than the funding provided pursuant
to Act 14, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands received
less than one and a half million dollars in general revenue
funds from the legislature for fiscal year 2007.

71. Simultaneously, since 1994, the State of Hawai#i has
[neither] floated nor issued any capital improvement bond
financing to support the need for additional DHHL
infrastructure.

72. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands does not
currently receive sufficient funding to develop house lots
for all applicants on the waiting list.

73. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands does not
currently receive sufficient funding to reduce the waiting
list by ninety percent over the next decade.

74. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands does not
currently receive sufficient funding to pay for the
development of homesteads for applicants on the waiting list
within a reasonable time frame.

75. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands does not
currently receive sufficient funds for the following
purposes: (1) development of home, agriculture, farm and
ranch lots; (2) home, agriculture, aquaculture, farm and
ranch loans; (3) rehabilitation projects to include, but not
limited to, educational, economic, political, social and
cultural processes by which the general welfare and
conditions of native Hawaiians are thereby improved; (4) the
administration and operating budget of the department of
Hawaiian home lands; in furtherance of (1), (2), (3) and (4)
herein.

76. The state administration fails to annually request
“sufficient sums” for the administration and operating
budget of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to assure
that the all [sic] programs of the department prescribed
under Article XII, § 1 are adequately funded.

77. Accordingly, Plaintiffs are entitled to a declaration
by this court that Defendants are in breach of their duties
under Article XII, §§ 1 and 2.

78. Plaintiffs are also entitled to a mandatory injunction
requiring the State to provide sufficient funds to the
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to (a) place as many

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beneficiaries on the department’s waiting lists for
residences, farms, and ranches on available Hawaiian home
lands within a reasonable period of time; (b) fund a fully
functioning farm, ranch, and aquaculture support program to
enable homesteaders to maximize the utilization of their
homestead lots.

Thus, Count 1 of the FAC alleged that the State failed to make

available sufficient sums to the DHHL, in violation of Article

XII.4 The Plaintiffs also sought injunctive relief in the form

of sufficient sums awarded to DHHL to enable as many applicants

on the waiting list as possible to receive homestead lots within

a reasonable period of time.

2. The State’s Motion for Summary Judgment

On September 10, 2008, the State filed its Motion for

Summary Judgment, arguing first that it had no trust obligation

to fund the DHHL. The thrust of the State=s Motion for Summary

Judgment, however, was its assertion that “[a]ny claim that the

Hawai#i Legislature has an obligation under Article XII, Sections

4
Count 2 of the FAC alleged that the DHHL Defendants breached their
trust obligation to their beneficiaries to seek sufficient funds from the
legislature. In Count 3, Plaintiffs alleged that the DHHL Defendants breached
their trust obligations to their beneficiaries and their constitutional duties
by leasing DHHL lands for commercial purposes to raise funds. Lastly, in
Count 4, Plaintiffs alleged that the DHHL Defendants breached their obligation
to their beneficiaries by failing to ascertain whether trust lands were
necessary for general homestead purposes before offering them for commercial
lease. The parties stipulated to dismiss Counts III and IV without and with
prejudice, respectively.
Only Count 1 is at issue in this appeal, as Count 2 was alleged against
only the DHHL Defendants, who did not apply for a writ of certiorari or file a
response to the State’s application for writ of certiorari. As a practical
matter, however, the ICA=s judgment vacated the entire circuit court judgment
and remanded the entire case for a decision on the merits, which reopened all
the Counts.

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1 & 2, of the Hawai#i Constitution to provide a certain level of

money to DHHL is barred by the Political Question Doctrine.”

On October 3, 2008, the DHHL Defendants filed their

Substantive Joinder in the State=s Motion for Summary Judgment.

DHHL argued that if the court were to grant summary judgment in

favor of the State on Count 1 (alleging that the State is

required to make available sufficient sums to DHHL), then partial

summary judgment should be granted in favor of DHHL on Count 2

(alleging that DHHL is obligated to request sufficient sums from

the State). On October 14, 2008, the Plaintiffs filed their

Memorandum in Opposition to the State’s Motion for Summary

Judgment, requesting that the circuit court “deny the State

Defendants’ motion for summary judgment [and, instead] grant

summary judgment on this issue to Plaintiffs pursuant to Flint v.

MacKenzie, 53 Haw. 672, 501 P.2d 357 (1972).”

On January 21, 2009, the circuit court granted the

State=s Motion for Summary Judgment, stating:

Although Plaintiffs raised allegations that were of concern
to this Court, the Court finds that the political question
doctrine bars justiciability of Plaintiffs’ claims. There
are no judicially discoverable and manageable standards for
resolving the dispute over the definition and determination
of “sufficient sums” under Article XII, Sections 1 & 2, of
the Constitution of the State of Hawai#i, without making
initial policy determinations of a kind clearly for
nonjudicial discretion.

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On January 22, 2009, the circuit court granted the DHHL

Defendants’ substantive joinder in the State=s motion.5

On August 24, 2009, the parties entered into a

Stipulation to Dismiss Count 3 without prejudice and Count 4 with

prejudice. With all counts disposed of, the circuit court

entered Final Judgment on September 23, 2009. Plaintiffs timely

appealed to the ICA.

3. The ICA Opinion

In a published opinion authored by Judge Foley and

joined by Judge Fujise, the ICA concluded that the Plaintiffs’

claims were not barred by the political question doctrine,

vacated the circuit court’s judgment, and remanded the case for

further proceedings consistent with its opinion. See Nelson v.

5
On January 30, 2009, Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Reconsider
Summary Judgment Orders, and on February 20, 2009, Plaintiffs filed a
Supplemental Memorandum to their Motion to Reconsider Summary Judgment Orders.
Plaintiffs presented to the court “new evidence” intended to show that the
State admitted that DHHL was insufficiently funded: the State of Hawai#i
Department of Budget and Finance’s FB 2009-11 Executive Biennium Budget:
Budget in Brief, in which the State purportedly admits that funding to DHHL
has not been sufficient; the budget’s proposed deletion of general funds for
18 DHHL staff positions; DHHL’s estimate that $2 billion is needed to address
the housing needs of residential applicants on the waiting list; and an
estimate that only 210 homestead lots (or homestead lots for only 1.04% of
those on the waiting list) will be awarded in an eight year period. The
Plaintiffs also pointed to a recently decided case, Hanabusa v. Lingle, 119
Hawai#i 341, 198 P.3d 604 (2008), and argued that the case established a
reasonableness standard for wait time. Lastly, the Plaintiffs produced as
“new evidence” testimony of DHHL Chairman Micah Kane before the state
legislature, in which he stated that DHHL’s administrative and operating costs
would be wholly funded by its special and trust funds instead of through
general funds. The State and DHHL defendants continued to counter-argue that
what constituted “sufficient sums” remained a political question; they also
argued that the holding of the Hanabusa case is limited to the context of
gubernatorial appointments. The circuit court denied Plaintiff=s Motion to
Reconsider by order dated March 17, 2009.

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Hawaiian Homes Comm’n, 124 Hawai#i 437, 447, 246 P.3d 369, 379

(App. 2011). The majority concluded that the determination of

“sufficient sums” did not pose a political question as to all

four purposes enumerated in Article XII, Section 1, analyzing the

issue with reference to all six formulations of the political

question doctrine set forth in Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186

(1962), as adopted by Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs

v. Yamasaki, 69 Haw. 154, 737 P.2d 446 (1987). 124 Hawai#i at

445-47, 246 P.3d at 377-79.

With respect to the two Yamasaki formulations

emphasized by the State, the majority stated that the DHHL’s 1976

General Plan provided the “initial policy determinations” and set

forth “judicially discoverable and manageable standards” by which

“sufficient sums” can be determined, rendering the controversy

justiciable. 124 Hawai#i at 445-46, 246 P.3d at 377-78.

Chief Judge Nakamura concurred separately and posited:

[T]he level of the Legislature’s funding support for the
DHHL prior to 1978 combined with and viewed in the context
of the level of the DHHL’s progress in awarding lands to
native Hawaiian beneficiaries prior to 1978 (the “pre-1978
levels”) provide a means for deriving a minimum baseline or
a floor for measuring and determining whether the
Legislature has made sufficient sums available under Article
XII, Section 1.

124 Hawai#i at 452, 246 P.3d at 384 (Nakamura, C.J., concurring).

To Chief Judge Nakamura, the pre-1978 levels serve as judicially

discoverable and manageable standards for evaluating whether the

legislature has provided sufficient sums without resort to
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nonjudicial policy determinations. See id. In order to fulfill

the constitutional mandate, then, “[l]egislative funding support

[to DHHL] would at least have to exceed, in relative terms, a

minimum baseline or floor derived by reference to the pre-1978

levels before it could be considered to be sufficient.” 124

Hawai#i at 452 n.9, 246 P.3d at 384 n.9 (Nakamura, C.J.,

concurring). The State now appeals.

4. Certiorari

On certiorari, the State argues that Count 1 raises a

political question because Article XII, Section 1 sheds no light

on how many lots (“N”) must be developed in a certain period of

time; therefore, the “sufficient sums” needed to develop N lots

are not subject to a “judicially discoverable and manageable

standard.” The State also argues that, even if a known number

were referenced by the court (such as the number of applicants on

the waiting list), Article XII, Section 1 still sheds no light on

what a reasonable time period (“Y”) would be for an applicant to

remain on the waiting list; therefore, in making such a

determination, the State argues that the court would resort to

making “initial policy determinations of a kind clearly for

nonjudicial discretion.”

The State also argues that similar problems exist in

determining what are “sufficient sums” for home, agriculture,

aquaculture, farm and ranch loans; rehabilitation projects for

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native Hawaiians; and the administrative and operating budget of

DHHL. In short, the State argues that the language of Article

XII, Section 1 provides no guidance whatsoever to the court on

how to determine what “sufficient sums” to DHHL are for all four

of its constitutionally defined purposes.

The State also argues that the constitutional history

behind the provision similarly provides no guidance to the court.

First, it asserts the committee report advocating releasing DHHL

of the burden of leasing its own lands to raise funds for

administrative staff is still silent on how much funding DHHL

should get as a whole. Second, the State argues that the 1976

DHHL General Plan does not set a current standard by which

“sufficient sums” can be measured. Next, the State asserts that

the removal of legislative discretion in funding DHHL still fails

to provide a clue as to how much funding “sufficient sums” would

be. Lastly, the State rejects Chief Judge Nakamura=s suggestion

that pre-1978 funding levels serve as the floor against which

current funding could be compared, as it still leaves unresolved

policy determinations inappropriate for a court to make,

especially in light of the current fiscal crisis. In short, the

State argues that the ICA gravely erred in holding that

determination of “sufficient sums” for all four purposes under

Article XII, Section 1 is justiciable.

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In their Response, Plaintiffs ask this court to answer

in the negative the question of whether the State has provided

“sufficient sums” to DHHL. Plaintiffs further state that the

determination of “sufficient sums” does not turn on mathematical

certainty regarding the number of lots or the length of the wait

time, as the State Defendants argue. Rather, the Plaintiffs argue

that by any reasonable standard -- the small number of lots

leased, the thousands of applicants on the waiting list, the

length of the wait, etc. -- the State cannot be said to have

given “sufficient sums” to DHHL for it to carry out its mission.

They argue that this situation existed at the time of the 1978

Constitutional Convention, and it was what the framers intended

to remedy in amending Article XII, Section 1.

According to Plaintiffs, the judicially discoverable

and manageable standards enunciated by the delegates in

determining sufficient sums was enough money to alleviate the

burden of general leasing land for revenue, implement the 1976

DHHL General Plan, fulfill DHHL’s administrative needs as well as

its goal of providing every qualified native Hawaiian beneficiary

on the waiting lists an opportunity for homeownership or land

stewardship on homestead lands, all without unreasonable delay.

Lastly, the Plaintiffs argue that the initial policy decision to

sufficiently fund DHHL was made by the voters in 1978. Thus, to

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the Plaintiffs, the political question doctrine does not apply to

this case.

IV. Discussion

A. Development of the Political Question Doctrine

The political question doctrine is often considered

“the most amorphous aspect of justiciability[.]” Nishitani v.

Baker, 82 Hawai#i 281, 290, 921 P.2d 1182, 1191 (App. 1996)

(citation omitted). The doctrine is the result of the balance

courts must strike in preserving separation of powers yet

providing a check upon the other two branches of government.

Yamasaki, 69 Haw. at 171, 737 P.2d at 456. This court adopted

the test enunciated by the United States Supreme Court in Baker

v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962) as its own test in Yamasaki, 69 Haw.

154, 737 P.2d 446. The test states:

Prominent on the surface of any case held to involve a
political question is found[:(1)] a textually demonstrable
constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate
political department; or [(2)] a lack of judicially
discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it; or
[(3)] the impossibility of deciding without an initial
policy determination of a kind clearly for nonjudicial
discretion; or [(4)] the impossibility of a court=s
undertaking independent resolution without expressing lack
of respect due coordinate branches of government; or [(5)]
an unusual need for unquestioning adherence to a political
decision already made; or [(6)] the potentiality of
embarrassment from multifarious pronouncements by various
departments on one question.

Yamasaki, 69 Haw. at 170, 737 P.2d at 455 (quoting Baker, 369

U.S. at 217). Unless any of these formulations is inextricable

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from the case at bar, dismissal for nonjusticiability is

unwarranted. See id.

An analysis into whether Plaintiffs’ claim poses a

nonjusticiable political question requires some background into

this court’s development of the political question doctrine, in

which two pairs of cases have come to a head. In the first pair

of cases, Yamasaki and OHA, this court determined controversies

to be nonjusticiable political questions. See Yamasaki, 69 Haw.

154, 737 P.2d 446, and State v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 96

Haw. 388, 31 P.3d 901 (2001). The State cites these cases as

analogous to the instant appeal. In the second pair of cases,

Waihee and Kaho#ohanohano, this court determined controversies

were not foreclosed from judicial review by the political

question doctrine. See Board of Education v. Waihee, 70 Haw.

253, 768 P.2d 1279 (1989), and Kaho#ohanohano v. State, 114

Hawai#i 302, 162 P.3d 696 (2007). Plaintiffs cite these cases as

more analogous to the instant appeal.

1. Yamasaki and OHA

In Yamasaki, the OHA Trustees initiated two lawsuits,

which were consolidated, against state officials and a public

corporation. 69 Haw. at 157, 737 P.2d at 448. The trustees

sought declaratory and injunctive relief on the basis that OHA

was entitled to 20% of the income derived from the State’s

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dispositions of ceded lands, pursuant to HRS § 10-13.5, which

stated that “[t]wenty per cent of all funds derived from the . .

. trust . . . shall be expended by [OHA]” for the purposes set

forth in HRS § 10-3, which include the betterment of conditions

of native Hawaiians. 69 Haw. at 157-58, 737 P.2d at 448-49. In

the first of the consolidated lawsuits, the OHA plaintiffs sought

a declaration that OHA was entitled to 20% of the proceeds

received by the State, or an undivided 20% of the land conveyed

to the State in lieu of proceeds, as a result of illegal sand

mining at Papohaku Beach, allegedly situated on ceded lands

included in the public trust. See 69 Haw. at 165-166, 737 P.2d

at 453. In the second of the consolidated lawsuits, the OHA

plaintiffs sought a declaration that OHA was entitled to 20% of

the income derived by the State from sales, leases, or other

dispositions of ceded lands, principally located in the lands

surrounding the State’s harbors, such as Sand Island, the

Honolulu International Airport, and Aloha Tower, pursuant to HRS

§ 10-13.5. See 69 Haw. at 166, 737 P.2d at 453.

This court dismissed both consolidated lawsuits as

nonjusticiable under the political question doctrine. See 69

Haw. at 175, 737 P.2d at 458. We concluded that the disputes,

which at first glance appeared to involve statutory

interpretation of HRS § 10-13.5, did not, in actuality,

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constitute traditional fare for the judiciary; and if the
circuit court ruled on them, it would be intruding in an
area committed to the legislature. It would be encroaching
on legislative turf because the seemingly clear language of
HRS § 10-13.5 actually provides no “judicially discoverable
and manageable standards” for resolving the disputes and
they cannot be decided without “initial policy
determination[s] of a kind clearly for nonjudicial
discretion.”

69 Haw. at 173, 737 P.2d at 457 (citation omitted). This was

because the legislature had acknowledged for itself, in enacting

Chapter 10 (concerning the Office of Hawaiian Affairs), that it

left “much . . . to subsequent legislatures, the Office of

Hawaiian Affairs, and its board of trustees to work out the

appropriate boundaries of the public trust.” Id. (citing S.

Stand. Comm. Rep. No. 784, in 1979 Senate Journal, at 1353).

This court recounted that, three years later, four separate

committees from a “subsequent legislature” admitted that there

remained

many uncertainties surrounding the matter of ceded lands and
the disposition of revenues generated by the use of ceded
lands can best be resolved by ascertaining what and where
ceded lands exist, the legal and fiscal problems which may
exist or arise from their use, and the effect on all parties
concerned with the use and distribution of revenues
generated from ceded lands.

Id. The committees recommended having the State Auditor tackle

the unanswered questions. See 69 Haw. at 174, 737 P.2d at 457.

A year later, the State Auditor abandoned the task, concluding

that “the work . . . is enormous,” id., and that “the

uncertainties surrounding the trust and funds derived therefrom

cannot be resolved without further legislative action.” 69 Haw.

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at 174, 737 P.2d at 457-58. This uncertainty led this court to

conclude, as to the OHA Plaintiffs’ first consolidated lawsuit,

that there existed no “judicially discoverable and manageable

standards” to resolve the issue of whether damages from illegal

sand mining, or a land conveyance in lieu of damages, constituted

“funds derived from the public land trust” under HRS § 10-3,

without making “an initial policy determination by the court.”

69 Haw. at 174, 737 P.2d at 458.

As to the OHA Plaintiffs’ second consolidated lawsuit

in the Yamasaki case, this court concluded that the mandate

contained in HRS § 10-13.5 (that OHA receive 20% of the funds

derived from the public land trust) conflicted, in the case of

lands sited within harbors, such as the airport, with HRS § 261-

5, which directed that all moneys received by the State in

connection with the airport be used to repay State bondholders,

who finance the construction of the harbors and airports. 69

Haw. at 175, 737 P.2d at 458. This court concluded that there

were no “judicially discoverable and manageable standards” that

could be employed to resolve the conflict between the mandates of

HRS §§ 10-13.5 and 261-5. Id. Therefore, it remanded both

consolidated lawsuits to the circuit court for the entry of

dismissal orders, as both claims posed nonjusticiable political

questions. Id.

Fourteen years later, in Office of Hawaiian Affairs v.

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State, the OHA Trustees again brought suit seeking 20% of the

revenues generated by the airport, which sits partially on ceded

lands (and partially on federal lands), pursuant to HRS §§ 10-2

and 10-13.5, as amended by Act 304 of the 1990 legislative

session. See 96 Haw. 388, 389, 31 P.3d 901 (2001). The

legislature had responded to the Yamasaki decision by passing Act

304, which entitled OHA to 20% of the “revenue” (replacing the

undefined and ambiguous word “funds”) from ceded lands, and which

defined “revenue” as “proceeds, fees, charges, rents, or other

income . . . derived from any . . . activity[] that is situated

upon and results from the actual use of . . . the public land

trust[.]” 96 Haw. at 391-92, 31 P.3d at 904-05. The federal

government, however, had also responded to Yamasaki by passing

the Forgiveness Act, in which it declared, “There shall be no

further payment of airport revenues for claims related to ceded

lands[.]” 96 Haw. at 393, 31 P.3d at 906. Under Act 304’s own

terms, any conflict with federal law would invalidate the Act,

and HRS § 10-13.5 would revert to its pre-Act 304 form. 96 Haw.

at 394, 31 P.3d at 907. This court then concluded that Act 304

did conflict with federal law, was therefore invalidated, and

that HRS §§ 10-2 and 10-13.5 reverted to prior versions -- the

versions that this court had already decided not to interpret

because of a lack of judicially discoverable and manageable

standards. 96 Haw. at 400, 31 P.3d at 913. Therefore, we

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dismissed the case for lack of justiciability under the political

question doctrine. 96 Haw. at 401, 31 P.3d at 914.

Both Yamasaki and OHA emphasize that when an issue is

committed to the legislature (such as determining the boundaries

of the ceded lands trust, the nature of the funds derived from

the trust, and the interaction between statutes dealing with

funds generated from activities on ceded lands), when the

legislature remains uncertain about the subject matter at issue,

or when resolution of the uncertainty has already been committed

to the legislature, the political question doctrine bars court

review of an issue.

2. Waihee and Kaho#ohanohano

On the other hand, Plaintiffs cite to another pair of

cases in which this court has concluded that the political

question doctrine does not bar judicial review of a controversy:

Board of Education v. Waihee, 70 Haw. 253, 768 P.2d 1279 (1989),

and Kaho#ohanohano v. State, 114 Hawai#i 302, 162 P.3d 696 (2007).

In Waihee, the Board of Education (“Board”) sought

declaratory and injunctive relief on the ground that the Governor

and Director of Finance impermissibly interfered with the Board’s

policymaking powers, granted to it under Article X, Section 3 of

the State Constitution. 70 Haw. at 257, 262, 768 P.2d at 1282,

1285. The gravamen of Plaintiffs’ complaint was that the

Governor and Director of Finance, in reviewing and amending the
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Board’s budget, interfered with the Board’s ability to formulate

policy and determine its own program priorities. 70 Haw. at 267,

768 P.2d at 1288. This court distinguished Waihee from Yamasaki,

stating:

Alleging the Governor and the Director had interfered with
and usurped the powers vested in the Board by article X,
section 3 of the State Constitution, the plaintiffs sought a
declaration of “the powers of the BOARD to formulate policy
and exercise control over the public school system and the
internal organization and management of that system[.]”
Obviously a judicial declaration of the Board’s powers under
the constitution would have political repercussions -- “all
constitutional interpretations have political consequences.”
R. Jackson, The Supreme Court in the American System 56
(1955). Still, a court “cannot reject as ‘no law suit’ a
bona fide controversy as to whether some action denominated
‘political’ exceeds constitutional authority[,]” Baker v.
Carr, 396 U.S. at 217, unless the matter at hand has been
committed to another branch of government and a decision
would compel the court “to make judgments not susceptible to
the usual tools of judicial methodology[.]” K. Ripple,
Constitutional Litigation 96 (1984). Inasmuch as the matter
at hand was textual interpretation, which undoubtedly
constitutes judicial fare, the circuit court erred in
dismissing the plaintiffs’ suit on the ground that it
involved political questions.

70 Haw. at 262-63, 768 P.2d at 1285 (emphasis added).

Similarly, in Kaho#ohanohano, this court also concluded

that the interpretation of the parties’ rights and obligations

under the Hawai#i State Constitution was justiciable and did not

pose a political question. 114 Hawai#i at 310, 162 P.3d at 704.

In that case, the trustees of the State Employees’ Retirement

System (“ERS”) intervened in a lawsuit seeking declaratory and

injunctive relief, specifically a declaration that Act 100 of the

1999 legislative session (which diverted $346.9 million from the

employees’ retirement system) violated Article XVI, Section 2 of

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the Hawai#i State Constitution, which prohibits the impairment or

diminishment of accrued benefits of ERS members. 114 Hawai#i at

315, 162 P.3d at 709. In Kaho#ohanohano, as in the appeal at

bar, the State defendants argued that the case was more like

Yamasaki and OHA, because the manner of funding the ERS was a

matter within the authority of the legislative branch, see 114

Hawai#i at 334, 162 P.3d at 728, while the trustees argued that

the case was more like Waihee, because it called upon the court

to interpret the constitution, a “task most appropriate to

judicial action.” Id.

In Kaho#ohanohano, this court concluded that

interpreting the Hawai#i constitution and deciding whether the

Act 100 violated the Hawai#i Constitution was “textual

interpretation, which undoubtedly constitutes judicial fare,” 114

Hawai#i at 335, 162 P.3d at 729, and ultimately remanded the case

(after an analysis concluding that the Hawai#i constitution had

been violated) for entry of summary judgment against the State

and in favor of the ERS trustees. 114 Hawai#i at 355, 162 P.3d

at 749. In short, both Waihee and Kaho#ohanohano stand for the

proposition that textual interpretation, particularly

constitutional interpretation, is generally judicial fare. See

also State v. Nakata, 76 Hawai#i 360, 370, 878 P.2d 699, 709

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(1994) (“American legislatures must adhere to the provisions of a

written constitution. . . . Our ultimate authority is the

Constitution; and the courts, not the legislature, are the

ultimate interpreters of the Constitution.”) (citations omitted).

Reconciling Yamasaki/OHA and Waihee/Kaho#ohanohano, it

can be said that a court is to interpret constitutional questions

as long as there do not exist uncertainties surrounding the

subject matter that have been clearly committed to another branch

of government to resolve.

The constitutional question presented is whether the

legislature has followed the constitutional mandate contained in

Article XII, Section 1, to make “sufficient sums” available to

DHHL for the purposes of (1) development of home, agriculture,

farm and ranch lots; (2) home, agriculture, aquaculture, farm and

ranch loans; (3) rehabilitation projects to include, but not

limited to, educational, economic, political, social and cultural

processes by which the general welfare and conditions of native

Hawaiians are thereby improved; and (4) the administration and

operating budget of the DHHL. See Sutton v. Ariyoshi, 58 Haw.

25, 37, 564 P.2d 135, 143 (1977) (“As a general rule, the role of

the court in supervising the activity of the legislature is

confined to seeing that the actions of the legislature do not

violate any constitutional provision.”). We must, however,

explore whether there exist uncertainties surrounding the

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constitutional mandate that would render the determination of

“sufficient sums” as to these four purposes a nonjusticiable

political question.

B. The 1978 Constitutional Convention History Provides
Judicially Discoverable and Manageable Standards and Makes
Initial Policy Determinations as to What Constitutes
“Sufficient Sums” for DHHL’s Administrative and Operating
Expenses.

At issue is the interpretation of the phrase

“sufficient sums” in Article XII, Section 1. “The general rule

is that, if the words used in a constitutional provision . . .

are clear and unambiguous, they are to be construed as they are

written[.]” Spears v. Honda, 51 Haw. 1, 6, 449 P.2d 130, 134

(1968)(citation omitted). The words in a constitutional

provision are also “presumed to be used in their natural sense.”

Employees’ Retirement Sys. v. Ho, 44 Haw. 154, 159, 352 P.2d 861,

864 (1960). In its natural sense, the word “sufficient” means

“marked by quantity, scope, power, or quality to meet with the

demands, wants, or needs of a situation or of a proposed use or

end,” and the word “sum” means “an indefinite or specified amount

of money.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 2284,

2289 (1967).

Even with these popular definitions in mind, it is

unclear what precisely the constitutional delegates intended when

they used the term “sufficient sums.” In such a situation, we

may look to “the history of the times and the state of being when

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the constitutional provision was adopted.” State v. Kahlbaun, 64

Haw. 197, 202, 638 P.2d 309, 315 (1981)(citations omitted). In

doing so, “the object sought to be accomplished and the evils

sought to be remedied should be kept in mind by the courts.”

Hawaii Gov’t Employees’ Ass’n v. County of Maui, 59 Haw. 65, 81,

576 P.2d 1029, 1039 (1978)(citation omitted).

“In order to give effect to the intention of the

framers and the people adopting a constitutional provision, an

examination of the debates, proceedings and committee reports is

useful.” Kahlbaun, 64 Haw. at 204, 638 P.2d at 316 (citations

omitted). We first start with the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs,

which crafted the amendment. The Committee stated the following:

“Your committee proposal makes it expressly clear that the

legislature is to fund DHHL for purposes which reflect the spirit

and intent of the Act. Your Committee decided to no longer allow

the legislature discretion in this area.” Stand. Comm. Rep. No.

56, in 2 Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of Hawai#i

of 1978 (“2 Proceedings”), at 630 (1980) (emphasis added). As to

the mandatory nature of the word “shall,” Delegate Hagino

explained to the Committee of the Whole:

I would like to focus on the word “shall” in the phrase
“shall make sufficient sums available” in lines 3 and 4,
page 2 of Committee Proposal No. 11; “shall” mandates the
legislature to fund the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
for purposes which reflect the spirit and intent of the
Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920. . . . The
rehabilitation concept could not work because the act was
never intended to work. Most of the available lands were

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poor faming quality and only 2 percent of the land could be
properly developed at a reasonable cost.

Debates in the Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm.

Prop. No. 11, 1 Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of

Hawai#i of 1978 (“1 Proceedings”), at 412-13 (1980).

The committee elaborated that it intended for the

legislature to fund DHHL for the following purposes, consistent

with the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act:

1. For the development of site improvements for home,
agriculture, farm and ranch lots. Development shall include
but not be limited to off-site and on-site improvements
which are necessary to provide grading, access (roads) and
utility services (drainage, sewerage, water and electrical
systems) for the developed lots;

2. For lessee loans in the areas of home construction and
farm and ranch construction and equipment. Under this loan
mandate, DHHL is authorized to request loans for lessees or
native Hawaiians for agricultural purposes, which includes
but is not limited to aquaculture;

3. For various rehabilitation projects, including
education, social, political, economic and cultural
processes which contribute to the general welfare and
betterment of native Hawaiian conditions; and

4. For administrative and operational costs, which
expenditure requests are to be utilized for all of the
above-mentioned.

Stand. Comm. Rep. No. 56, in 2 Proceedings, at 630.

The committee found that mandating legislative funding

of DHHL for these purposes was necessary because DHHL “was

established by the Act to provide means to rehabilitate its

beneficiaries through a series of projects and yet was given very

little financial assistance to perfect its mandate.” Id. at 631

(emphasis added). Delegate De Soto explained that the committee

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had held public hearings statewide, where it became apparent that

“the identifiable problem areas were -- first, that the DHHL --

the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands -- which provides a land

base, has a monumental and eternal dilemma in funding[.]”

Debates in the Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm.

Prop. No. 11, in 1 Proceedings, at 410 (emphasis added).

The committee considered it especially problematic that

DHHL was the only one of 17 executive departments6 forced to

finance itself by leasing its own land “in order to generate

revenues to support its administrative and operating budget.”

Stand. Comm. Rep. No. 56, 2 Proceedings, at 631; Debates in the

6
1978 Constitutional Convention Delegate Helene Hale pointed out in
her opposition to the amendment that the 1950 Constitutional Convention had
rejected proposed language to fund the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands on
equal footing with the other executive departments:
What the Legislative Reference Bureau book on Article
XI fails to tell us is what really happened in 1950. The
committee had recommended that an additional sentence be put
in the Constitution, namely: “Such appropriations for
administration expenses of the Hawaiian Homes Commission
shall never be less than, after due consideration of the
receipts applicable to such expenses from the Hawaiian home
lands, will accord said Commission equal treatment with
other departments of the state in the funds available for
its administration expenses.”
What I’m trying to tell you is that the 1950
convention had this in their report. This provision was
deleted in the Committee on the Whole with the concurrence
of the chairman of the committee after many hours of debate
because the majority of the convention felt that the
language was too strong.
Debates in Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm. Prop. No. 11, 1
Proceedings, at 416. Ironically, inaction at the 1950 Constitutional
Convention may have created the funding problem that the 1978 Constitutional
Convention was compelled to address.

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Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm. Prop. No. 11, 1

Proceedings, at 415. Delegate Ontai elaborated:

[T]he Hawaiian homes department and the act were and are the
most neglected part of the State of Hawaii, the most
neglected department. It was woefully lacking in funds at
its inception, and for the past 50 years and even today, it
lacks funds to run the department properly, lacks funds to
construct homes and facilities necessary to service existing
and future applicants.

Debates in the Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm.

Prop. No. 11, in 1 Proceedings, at 422.

The Committee noted that overreliance on leasing

occurred at the expense of the department’s mission to

rehabilitate native Hawaiians:

DHHL cannot afford to lease more acreage to the
general public for the purpose of generating income to
accommodate a minimal employee level.
It is clear to your Committee that the intent and
spirit of the Act would be better moneys served [sic] by
releasing the department of its present burden to generate
revenues through the general leasing of its lands. Your
Committee decided that through legislative funding this
dilemma would be resolved. In that manner more lands could
be made available to the intended beneficiaries.

Stand. Comm. Rep. No. 56, 2 Proceedings, at 632.

The severity of the leasing problem was highlighted by

Delegate De Soto, in light of the fact that leased lands became

unavailable for homestead lots:

Today over 113,000 acres of [a total of 203,500] DHHL lands
are leased to the public through leases, revocable permits
or licenses. Another 16,000 acres are under governor
executive orders, this all coming prior to 1972. Another
22,000 acres are utilized by federal, state and county
agencies without document, and another 40,000 acres are
classified as conservation. In all, 85 percent of DHHL
lands (170,000 acres) are utilized by the general public;
12-1/2 percent have actually been utilized by the intended
beneficiaries, or 400 acres per annum have been transferred
to native Hawaiians since 1920. At that rate, it would take

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over 400 years to fully dispose of the lands, provided the
department could regain those lands utilized by the
government and public sector. Mr. Chairman, this is 1978,
130 years after the Great Mahele, and the maka#ainana are
still a landless, drifting nonentity. Through no fault of
their own, they have been foreclosed from the breath of life
-- the #aina.

Debates in the Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm.

Prop. No. 11, in 1 Proceedings, at 411. Delegate Crozier

remarked that “only 2,000 acres [are left] for more general

leases or for Hawaiians to use. . . [T]he department, in terms of

general leases, has reached a point of diminishing returns. The

reality of this is that the department cannot lease out any more

land.” Id. at 415.

In short, in 1978, it was apparent that DHHL was swept

up in a vicious cycle: in order to fulfill its mission of

providing homestead lots to beneficiaries, the department had to

raise revenue to sustain its programmatic and human

infrastructure costs (administrative and operating expenses), and

in order to raise money for administrative and operating

expenses, the department had to lease the vast majority of its

lands that otherwise would have been used for homestead lots.

One commentator viewed the problem as “creat[ing] a conflict of

interest: the Commissioners and other Department officials must

choose between making land available to homesteading

beneficiaries or leasing the lands to non-Hawaiians, thus

assuring that at least their own salaries will be paid.” Lesley

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Karen Friedman, Native Hawaiians, Self-Determination, and the

Inadequacy of the State Land Trusts, 14 U. Haw. L. Rev. 519, 544-

45 (1992). The primary problem the 1978 delegates focused on was

the impending crisis that would result when DHHL ran out of land

to general lease to raise revenue for administrative and

operating expenses.

The Hawaiian Affairs Committee explained in greater

detail how the administrative and operating expenses at that time

were raised and used:

[DHHL’s] revenue from general leases, licenses and revenue
permits 7 is approximately $1.1 million. . . . The department
presently general leases its lands to obtain moneys for
administrative expenses and salaries. In order to keep up
with a built-in inflation rate and to rehire prospective
employees through [State Comprehensive Employment and
Training] [“]SCET[”] losses, DHHL continues to general lease
more of its lands.

Stand. Comm. Rep. No. 56, 2 Proceedings, at 631-32. An even more

detailed explanation as to how administrative and operating costs

were allocated follows:

There are presently only 90 people statewide, who are
limited by time and other constraints as to what they can
do. As demands on the department and staff grow, a much
bigger staff will be required. At present, the DHHL budget
calls for the expenditure of $1.3 million; $1.1 million is
through land revenues and the rest through Time Certificates
of Deposit (TCDs). From this budget, $750,000 goes toward
staff salaries for 66 percent of the staff. Even this
figure will rise as this portion of the staff is civil
service and subject to an 8-percent annual inflation rate.

7
The revenue from “licenses and revenue permits” the Committee
referred to was provided for in the original HHCA, which directed that 30
percent of the state receipts derived from revenues originating from
cultivated canelands and water licenses be transferred to the department to
provide a means of developing farm, ranch and home lots.” Stand. Comm. Rep.
No. 56, 2 Proceedings, at 632; see also Hawai#i Constitution, Article XII, §
1.

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The other 34 percent of the staff is funded through the
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) and the
State Comprehensive Employment and Training Program (SCET)
funds. If these temporary dollars are cut, the staff would
have to be cut accordingly. Not only is there a demand on
the money for staff, but there are also other administrative
demands that need to be met through funds, especially in the
area of record-keeping. Problems the department is facing
in record-keeping include a lack of proper equipment to
record information, lack of a filing system, the need to
automate many portions of the system to speed up the
processing of records -- now there are only electric
typewriters.

Debates in the Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm.

Prop. No. 11, in 1 Proceedings, at 414.

The constitutional convention delegates focused on

providing sufficient sums to DHHL for its administrative and

operating expenses in particular, to free up homestead lands for

DHHL beneficiaries. Once homestead lands ceased serving as the

source of administrative and operating expenses, however, the

constitutional convention delegates could not agree as to what

would constitute “sufficient sums” for the other three purposes

listed under Article XII, Section 1, although a number of

delegates weighed in. Delegate Sutton echoed the Committee’s

four stated purposes and referred to the DHHL’s 1976 General

Plan:

I’d like to focus on the word “sufficient” on page 2,
line 3 of Committee Proposal No. 11
. . . .
Again, to the word “sufficient” -- what does this
really mean? It means funding to develop house lots for
applicants on the waiting list or implied in the general
plan. It also means money to provide loans to lessees to
construct their homes, since the lessee cannot mortgage or
encumber the land.
For the administration, there is need for support of a
staff to adequately service the department’s beneficiaries

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and to purchase equipment which will allow sufficient
management of its resources and records.

Debates in the Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm.

Prop. No. 11, in 1 Proceedings, at 413, 414. Delegate Crozier,

like Delegate Sutton, referred to the 1976 DHHL General Plan as

setting standards for determining DHHL funding. He stated, “The

proposal states: ‘The legislature shall make sufficient sums

available. . . .’ The standards which define ‘sufficient’ are

contained in the department=s general plan, approved by the

Hawaiian homes commission on October 31, 1975 and signed by

Governor Ariyoshi on April 14, 1976.” Id. at 415.

The 1976 DHHL General Plan that the delegates referred

to sets forth the following goals and objectives for the period

1975-1985:

1. Goal: Maximize HOUSING assistance for native Hawaiians.
Objective: Program housing for 2,600 new families.

2. Goal: Allocate AGRICULTURAL LANDS to native Hawaiians.
Objective: Allocate at least 40,000 additional acres for
direct agricultural use by eligible Hawaiians; use all
available techniques to maximize productivity of
agricultural lands (Note: The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act
sets 20,000 acres as the limit which can be allocated within
any five-year period.)

3. Goal: Reduce the acreage of LANDS USED FOR INCOME
purposes.
Objective: Reduce by at least 20,000 acres the lands
presently under general lease and temporary use permit and
make these lands available for direct use by native
Hawaiians.

4. Goal: Maximize INCOME through more effective land
management.
Objective: Use only a small fraction of Hawaiian Home Lands
to generate income for operating and administrative
expenses.

Hawaiian Home Lands General Plan ii (1976).
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As to how DHHL would utilize “sufficient sums” made

available to it, Delegate Sutton explained:

By 1984, 6,000 homes will be needed to meet the
requirements of the DHHL general plan, which is now in
existence -- the one started in 1974. The department must
conform to county standards for site development in order to
qualify for dedication of roads, etc. to the county for
maintenance purposes. The department must conform to
housing construction ordinances in order to qualify for
federal monies under Farmers Home Administration (FmHA).
The State must not only insure there are funds to
prepare sites but also insure that there is a way for the
DHHL administration to be fully funded to get the
evermounting paperwork done.

Debates in the Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm.

Prop. No. 11, in 1 Proceedings, at 414.

A number of delegates spoke against the proposed

amendment. One of their concerns was the uncertainty surrounding

what sum would constitute a “sufficient sum” to fulfill all of

the four proposed constitutional purposes: (1) for developing

home, agriculture, farm, and ranch lots; (2) for home,

agriculture, aquaculture, farm and ranch loans; (3) for

rehabilitation projects; and (4) for administrative and

operational costs. Delegate William Burgess repeatedly attempted

to pin down a numerical figure as follows:

No matter how just the cause or how strong the feeling and
how meritorious or how beautiful the poetry, I believe that
we are here as constitution-makers and not as legislators.
This proposal is specific legislation and specifically
requires the appropriation of moneys. We have not
apparently investigated the cost -- I have heard figures of
$200 and $300 million to carry out the programs that are
appropriated in this proposal -- I refer specifically to
page 2. I believe that we are venturing into an area beyond
what we are supposed to do as delegates to this Convention.
I therefore speak against it.

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Second Reading, Committee of the Whole Report No. 11, Comm. Prop.

No. 11, 2 Proceedings, at 272. Delegate DiBianco’s expressed his

doubt as follows: “I don’t know how much money is involved here,

and it troubles me. I don’t know whether this Convention

realizes the extent to which it is mandating the State to

guarantee funds.” Id.

Although the DHHL’s 1976 General Plan referenced the

sum of $250,000,000 to carry out its goals, see Hawaiian Home

Lands General Plan 93, when the delegates finally settled on a

numerical figure for “sufficient sums,” the General Plan did not

frame their discussion. Delegates Burgess, Delegate De Soto and

Sutton, through the following dialogue, ultimately arrived at

$1.3 to 1.6 million as a “sufficient sum,” and that figure

related only to administrative and operating expenses:

Delegate Burgess: [W]hat would be the estimated cost of
these programs which are mandated?

. . . .

Delegate De Soto: What we propose with respect to “shall
fund” is the administrative and costs of running the
Hawaiian homes program, which would amount to operating and
administrating approximately $1.3 to $1.6 million, taking
into consideration inflation, collective bargaining
agreements that go into inflation with the pay.

. . . .

Delegate Burgess: I would ask —- is the $1.3 to $1.6
million that was mentioned the total cost of the programs
which are mandated to the legislature? Does that amount
include the development of home, agriculture, farm and ranch
lots, and the other aims that are cited on page 2 of the
proposal?

. . . .

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Delegate Burgess: Does the $1.3 to $1.6 million figure that
was mentioned just a few minutes ago include the costs of
the home developments, the loans and the other
rehabilitation projects which are referred to on page 2? —-
in other words, the development of home, agriculture, farm
and ranch lots; the home, agriculture, aquaculture, ranch
and farms loans; and all of those programs. Are all of
those included in the total estimate of the $1.3 million to
fund this program, or is the total cost to the State
different from that?

. . . .

Delegate Sutton: The $1.3 to $1.6 million is for
administrative costs at present. Their need is more. The
way the State itself can fund all the rest of the projects
—- and directly answering your question, delegate, is no, is
not only $1.3 to $1.6 million —- the way the State can find
the funds is through mutual agreement with different parts
of the government here in Hawaii; and that is, for the poor
people who qualify, that is for HHA or Hawaiian Homes
Commission Act properties, that there are similar needs and
requirements for those to get the land —- that is, under
$10,000 net assets. The State may fund these projects and
come out with considerably more for the people at less of an
expense, simply because the Hawaiian homes commission has
land and does not need to condemn and purchase other land to
fit the needy at that level.

Debates in the Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm.

Prop. No. 11, in 1 Proceedings, at 421-22.

Thus, by the end of the Committee on the Whole Debates,

what was certain was that the $1.3 to $1.6 figure represented

“sufficient sums” for administrative and operating expenses only.

As to that purpose under Article XII, then, the 1978

Constitutional Convention history does provide judicially

discoverable and manageable standards that do not involve initial

policy determinations of a kind clearly for nonjudicial

discretion. At a minimum, funding at or above the $1.3 to $1.6

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million envisioned in 1978 would be required.8 Therefore, the

determination of what constitutes “sufficient sums” for

administrative and operating expenses is not barred by the

political question doctrine.

As such, we disagree with the State’s argument that

“[a] court cannot determine how much money is needed to

administer and operate DHHL, after all, until it determines how

many lots, loans, and rehabilitation projects (and their scope)

DHHL must provide.” The consideration of such factors could

provide the basis for increasing the required administrative

funding above the 1978 baseline identified by the delegates, but

could also involve the courts in addressing issues (the

development of lots, loans, and rehabilitation projects) that

involve political questions. See Part IV.C infra. However, we

reject the State’s suggestion that challenges associated with

determining the upper limit of the required administrative

funding render the calculation of the minimum required

contribution nonjusticiable. It is clear that the constitutional

delegates intended to require appropriation of “sufficient sums”

to relieve DHHL of the burden of general leasing its lands to

8
Presumably, this figure could be adjusted to reflect the impact of
factors such as inflation or increased collective bargaining costs, both of
which were acknowledged by Delegate De Soto as factors that could
appropriately be taken into account in determining the required contribution.
See Debates in the Committee on the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm. Prop. No.
11, in 1 Proceedings, at 421.

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generate administrative and operating funds, and to that end,

they identified the minimum funding necessary for such expenses.9

C. What Constitutes “Sufficient Sums” as to the Other
Three Enumerated Purposes under Article XII, Section 1
Remains a Political Question.

The 1978 Constitutional Convention history of Article

XII, Section 1 can be broadly understood as committing the

legislature to funding DHHL’s administrative and operating

expenses, because DHHL was the only executive agency within the

State forced into leasing its own lands to administer its own

programs. Further, placing DHHL on the horns of the funding

dilemma occurred at the expense of its own beneficiaries, as the

leased lands became unavailable for homesteads. Alleviating the

DHHL of the burden of general leasing its own lands was an

important first step towards assisting the department in

fulfilling its mission. Unfortunately, the 1978 Constitutional

Convention history is less clear on what “sufficient sums” for

the next steps would be, once the lands were freed.

The 1978 Constitutional Convention history is not

nearly as detailed in explaining what sufficient sums would be

for (1) developing home, agriculture, farm, and ranch lots; (2)

(2) lessee loans for home, agriculture, aquaculture, farm and

9
We note that in supplemental briefing, the DHHL Defendants newly
concede that the political question does not bar adjudication of what would
constitute “sufficient sums” made available to DHHL for administrative and
operating expenses.

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ranch loans; and (3) for rehabilitation projects.

1. Purpose Number One: The Development of Home,
Agriculture, Farm and Ranch Lots

As to the first purpose, the “development of home,

agriculture, farm and ranch lots,” the delegates made only

passing references to the “sufficient sums” needed: “The $1.3 to

$1.6 million is for administrative costs at present. [DHHL’s]

need is more. The way the State itself can fund all the rest of

the projects . . . is through mutual agreement with different

parts of the government here in Hawaii.” Debates in the

Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm. Prop. No. 11, in

1 Proceedings, at 422 (emphasis added). Although “more” than

$1.3 to 1.6 million is mentioned, no further details were

provided as to how much more, and Delegate Sutton elaborated only

on his idea of mutual assistance as follows:

One way the DHHL can save the State funds, and thus insure
that there will be enough funds to meet their [site
development] needs, is through mutual assistance with other
agencies, such as the Hawaii Housing Authority (HHA).
Qualifications for DHHL and HHA are very similar in that
they both require that the applicant net not over $10,000.
DHHL could provide land to those who qualify under both DHHL
and HHA programs. The total cost for land acquisition to
the State in order to develop homes for the needy under DHHL
authority is zero -- nothing -- contrasted with the State
having to purchase land for the same people qualifying for
housing. As it is now, the Hawaii Housing Authority has to
condemn the land, pushing the average cost of a home over
$60,000. The poor cannot afford these high-priced homes
(myself included). They could afford homes much more easily
under mutual assistance programs.

Debates in the Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm.

Prop. No. 11, 1 Proceedings, at 414; see also id. at 422.

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Sutton’s comments spoke only to “saving” the State money, not how

much money the State should provide to DHHL as “sufficient sums”

for the development of home, agriculture, farm, and ranch lots.

2. Purpose Number Two: Home, Agriculture,
Aquaculture, Farm and Ranch Loans

The delegates also did not discuss what “sufficient

sums” would be as to the second purpose: “home, agriculture,

aquaculture, farm and ranch loans.” Instead, the only discussion

of DHHL loans in the 1978 Constitutional Convention history was

in connection with Committee Proposal No. 14, which amended then-

Article VI, to include a debt limitation on the issuance of

general obligation bonds. Comm. Prop. No. 14, 1 Proceedings, at

814-25. That amendment set a ceiling on how much DHHL loans

would contribute towards the State’s debt limit. Id. at 822; see

also 2 Proceedings, at 345-47; Debates in the Committee of the

Whole on Committee Proposal No. 14, 1 Proceedings, at 468, 470-

72. The delegates did not mention how much in DHHL loans the

legislature should provide in the first instance, under the

“sufficient sums” mandate.

3. Purpose Number Three: Rehabilitation Projects

As to the third purpose, “rehabilitation projects to

include, but not limited to, educational, economic, political,

social and cultural processes by which the general welfare and

conditions of native Hawaiians are thereby improved,” the

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delegates proposed that funding for this purpose come from the

“Native Hawaiian Rehabilitation Fund,” and amended Section 213 of

the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act to establish this fund. Comm.

Prop. No. 11, 2 Proceedings, at 808; Stand. Comm. Rep. No. 56, 2

Proceedings, at 635. The fund would consist of “thirty percent

of the state receipts derived from lands previously cultivated as

sugarcane lands . . . and from water licenses[.]” Id. DHHL was

mandated to use this fund “solely for the rehabilitation of

native Hawaiians which shall include but not be limited to the

educational, economic, political, social and cultural processes

by which the general welfare and conditions of native Hawaiians

are thereby improved and perpetuated.” Id. This amendment

closely tracked the language of Article XII, Section 1.

The delegates did not extensively discuss this new

provision beyond Delegate Les Ihara’s observation:

This fund will allow the Hawaiian homes commission to more
economically utilize Hawaiian homestead lands and to promote
a nonpartisan political education. . . This fund is not
designed to relieve the State of its responsibilities to the
people of Hawaii outside the Hawaiian homes commission.
This fund is but one step toward maintaining and promoting
the cultural heritage of our native Hawaiian people.

Debates in the Committee of the Whole on Hawaiian Affairs Comm.

Prop. No. 11, 1 Proceedings, at 422. No further discussion

elucidated whether the delegates intended the legislature to

provide more funding beyond the Native Hawaiian Rehabilitation

Fund, and if so, how much funding would constitute “sufficient

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sums” for that purpose.

In conclusion, the constitutional convention delegates

made only passing references to the three remaining purposes

under Article XII, Section 1. There was no discussion at all as

to what would constitute “sufficient sums” as to any of the

remaining three purposes. Therefore, the text of Article XII,

Section 1, and its accompanying constitutional convention

history, shed no light on how many home, agriculture, farm and

ranch lots must be developed in a certain period of time, so that

what would constitute “sufficient sums” to that end is not clear.

Moreover, what would constitute “sufficient sums” for home,

agriculture, aquaculture, farm and ranch loans, as well as

rehabilitation projects, is also unclear.

In Yamasaki, we held that the interpretation of the

language of HRS § 10-13.5, directing “[t]wenty per cent of all

funds derived from the public land trust” to be expended by OHA,

was nonjudicial fare, because the legislature had yet to define

“funds,” and had acknowledged that the boundaries of the “public

land trust” were undetermined. 69 Haw. at 172-73, 737 P.2d at

457-58 (emphasis added). Similarly, in the instant appeal, the

language and constitutional convention history of Article XII,

Section 1, contain undetermined goals for home, agriculture,

farm, and ranch lots; home, agriculture, aquaculture, farm and

ranch loans; and rehabilitation projects, barring judicial

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interpretation of “sufficient sums” as to those purposes. In

short, Article XII, Section 1 and its accompanying constitutional

convention history provide no “judicially discoverable and

manageable standards” for determining “sufficient sums” for these

three purposes without “initial policy determination[s] of a kind

clearly for nonjudicial discretion.” 69 Haw. at 173, 737 P.2d at

457 (citing Baker, 369 U.S. at 217)). The determination of

“sufficient sums” for these three purposes, therefore, poses a

nonjusticiable political question.

We agree with the Plaintiffs that, “the State has

failed, by any reasonable measure, under the undisputed facts, to

provide sufficient funding to DHHL[.]” The State’s track record

in supporting DHHL’s success is poor, as evidenced by the tens of

thousands of qualified applicants on the waiting lists and the

decades-long wait for homestead lots. See generally, A Broken

Trust: The Hawaiian Homelands Program: Seventy Years of Failure

of the Federal and State Governments to Protect the Civil Rights

of Native Hawaiians (1991). With the benefit of 35-90 years of

hindsight, it is clear that DHHL is underfunded and has not been

able to fulfill all of its constitutional purposes. However,

were we to remand this case to the circuit court to grant

declaratory relief to Plaintiffs as to all of the constitutional

purposes encompassed in Count 1, the circuit court still would

not be able to mandate the affirmative injunctive relief that the

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Plaintiffs seek without encountering the same uncertainty with

regard to what constitutes “sufficient sums” as to the remaining

three purposes under Article XII, Section 1, explained supra.

The Plaintiffs prayed for an injunction requiring the State to

“place as many beneficiaries on the department’s waiting lists

for residence, farms, and ranches on available Hawaiian home

lands within a reasonable period of time.” Article XII, Section

1 and its constitutional convention history shed no light on what

those “sufficient sums” might be.

Declaratory relief as to the other three purposes,

then, is not available, pursuant to HRS § 632-1 (1993), which

provides in relevant part, with emphasis added:

Relief by declaratory judgment may be granted in civil cases
where an actual controversy exists between contending
parties, or where the court is satisfied that antagonistic
claims are present between the parties involved which
indicate imminent and inevitable litigation, or where in any
such case the court is satisfied that a party asserts a
legal relation, status, right, or privilege in which the
party has a concrete interest and that there is a challenge
or denial of the asserted relation, status, right, or
privilege by an adversary party who also has or asserts a
concrete interest therein, and the court is satisfied also
that a declaratory judgment will serve to terminate the
uncertainty or controversy giving rise to the proceeding.

In this case, were the circuit court to declare that funding to

DHHL for the other three purposes has been insufficient, such

declaration would not “terminate the uncertainty or controversy

giving rise to the proceeding,” as judicial determination of what

affirmatively constitutes “sufficient sums” for the other three

constitutional purposes is nonjusticiable, based on the

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political question doctrine.

V. Conclusion

We affirm the ICA’s judgment, but only on the narrower

ground that the determination of what constitutes “sufficient

sums” for administrative and operating expenses under the Hawai#i

Constitution’s Article XII, Section 1 is justiciable and not

barred as a political question. Article XII, Section 1 and its

constitutional history, however, do not shed light on what would

constitute “sufficient sums” for the other three enumerated

purposes; thus, the political question doctrine bars judicial

determination of what would constitute “sufficient sums” for

those purposes, and the ICA erred in concluding otherwise.

David M. Louie, /s/ Mark E. Recktenwald
Attorney General, and
Girard D. Lau and /s/ Paula A. Nakayama
Charleen M. Aina,
Deputy Attorneys General, /s/ Simeon R. Acoba, Jr.
for Petitioners/Defendants-
Appellees /s/ James E. Duffy, Jr.

David Kimo Frankel and /s/ Sabrina S. McKenna
Alan T. Murakami
(Native Hawaiian Legal
Corporation), for Respondents/
Plaintiffs-Appellants

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