Bills envision return of Kalaupapa to Maui County

Companion House and Senate bills make way for the eventual return of Kalaupapa Settlement on Molokaʻi with the rest of Maui County, but after a transparent and extensive public outreach process.

House Bill 1113 and companion Senate Bill 1432 acknowledge, in legislative findings, that many stakeholders care about the future of Kalaupapa Settlement, a national historical park within the National Park Service. The peninsula on Molokaʻi is also known as the County of Kalawao, currently under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Health. The settlement is governed by laws and rules relating to the care and treatment of people affected by Hansen’s disease. The Health Department provides regular updates on the status of the settlement.

According to the bills, there are currently seven individuals on the Kalaupapa Registry who receive services from the state. Four of them are full-time Kalaupapa residents. All of the patients are 83 years or older.

After the passing of the last full- or part-time residents at Kalaupapa, the Department of Health will no longer provide patient care there. However, it does intend to complete environmental remediation work.

According to the bills, the proposed legislation “reflects preliminary sentiments heard from some Maui County residents that the County of Kalawao be reunited with the County of Maui. A transparent process and opportunity for more extensive public input regarding the transfer of jurisdiction and control of Kalawao County is required.”

The bills also would establish the Kalaupapa State Historical Area, and they would authorize the Department of Health to continue providing services statewide to Hansen’s disease patients living in the community.

As of Monday morning, there were no scheduled public hearings for House Bill 1113, which has been referred to House committees on Finance; Health; and Water & Land. Senate Bill 1432 is set for a public hearing at 3 p.m. Thursday before the Senate committees on Health & Human Services; and Energy & Intergovernmental Affairs.

The agenda for that meeting is here. To submit written testimony, click here; and to watch the online livestream committee meeting go here.

The Senate bill has also been referred to the Ways & Means and Judiciary committees.

The House and Senate bills were introduced at the request of Gov. Josh Green by House Speaker Nadine Nakamura and Senate President Ronald Kouchi.

Also at 9 a.m. Thursday, the Maui County Council’s Kōmike Aloha ʻĀina, chaired by Molokaʻi Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez will take up both state legislative bills for discussion, but no legislative action. The Council committee’s agenda is here. The committee meeting will be televised on Akakū: Maui Community Media, cable Channel 53.

Written testimony will be accepted via eComment, available by clicking here. Or, comments can be emailed to KAA.committee@mauicounty.us or postal service to KAʻĀ Committee, Maui County Council, 200 South High St., Wailuku 96793.

The Council committee also is set to receive updates from the director and deputy director of the Department of ʻŌiwi Resources. These include the department’s organizational structure, the consultant working on its strategic plan, potential budget requests and implementation of Maui County Charter provisions.

Beginning in the mid-1860s and for about 100 years thereafter, more than 8,000 people with Hansen’s disease were forcibly exiled to the Kalaupapa peninsula on the northern coast of Molokaʻi. The Hawaiian kingdom designated the area as an isolation colony for people suffering from the disease as a way to prevent its spread.

People sent to the colony experienced extreme hardship and depravation in isolation, but over time, with the help of Father Damien De Veuster and Sister Marianne Cope, conditions improved and a thriving community was established. Both Damien and Marianne were canonized as saints by the Roman Catholic Church.

The isolation order was lifted in 1969. At that time, antibiotics were available to cure patients of Hansen’s disease. The State of Hawaiʻi establish the peninsula as Kalawao County, by law, and pledged that patients there would be provided for medically and allowed to live at Kalaupapa for the rest of their lives.

Congress established the Kalaupapa National Historical Park in 1980.