Native Hawaiian Caucus announces its priority bills for this year’s lawmaking session

Members of the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives Native Hawaiian Affairs Caucus presented their 2025 Legislative Package, with four priority bills aimed at representing and advocating for the needs of the Native Hawaiian community.

In attendance were Hawaiian Homes Commission Chairman Kali Watson, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees Chair Kaialiʻi Kahele, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees Vice Chair Keoni Souza and community members.

“We come together as a Caucus with the shared goal of uplifting lāhui and uniting on issues where we can find common ground,” said Native Hawaiian Caucus Chair and Rep. Daniel Holt of Sand Island, Iwilei and Chinatown. “This year’s bill package reflects our commitment to honoring past responsibilities while addressing new challenges to protect our Native Hawaiian culture and identity.”

The House Native Hawaiian Affairs Caucus is a bipartisan caucus composed of 13 state representatives with Hawaiian ancestry, including nine Democrats and four Republicans. The 2025 Native Hawaiian Affairs Caucus bill package consists of the following measures:

House Bill 603, relating to Native Hawaiian business marketing. The measure requires the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to administer and oversee a Native Hawaiian marketing program to promote businesses owned by Native Hawaiians through marketing and technical assistance.

“This concept draws inspiration from the American Indian Foods program, established by the Intertribal Agriculture Council in 1998. AIF was created to help American Indian food businesses showcase their products while protecting producers and consumers from falsely labeled ‘Indian-made’ goods,” said Rep. Darius Kila of Honokai Hale, Nānākuli and Mā‘ili. “This initiative closely aligns with the efforts of the Native Hawaiian Intellectual Property Working Group. Our identity is our brand, and our brand is our identity. It must be protected accordingly.”

House Bill 604, relating to Tax Revenues. Under this bill, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the transient accommodations tax rate would be increased by 1 percentage point, and funds generated would be deposited into the Hawaiian Home General Loan Fund, established under the 1920 Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.

House Bill 605, relating to the Hawaiʻi Community Development Authority, Kakaʻako Makai. This bill would allow the authority to approve residential development on certain parcels of land in the Kakaʻako Makai area; raising building height limits on certain parcels in the area; requiring a certain percentage of the residential housing units developed on certain parcels to be allocated to households at or below a certain income level, with priority given to certain essential workforce in the area.

House Bill 606, relating to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. This bill requests an additional $600 million for department. It extends the Act 279 Special Fund to June 30, 2028. It deposits funds into the special fund and appropriates funds out of the fund for the Department of Hawaiian Homelands to eliminate its waitlist. The bill requires the department to submit a strategic plan detailing the anticipated uses of the funds appropriated. And, the bill requires an annual report.

“Our priority is ensuring that the $600 million allocated to DHHL is not just used to construct housing units, but to eliminate the waitlist for Hawaiian beneficiaries. If these units are not issuing leases to those on the waitlist, we’re failing to fulfill the purpose of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. This funding must translate into leases, homes and opportunities for our people — not just buildings,” said House Minority Floor Leader Diamond Garcia of portions of Varona Village, ‘Ewa, and Kapolei, Fernandez Village.