HB 2242 Summary

• Transfers authority over native Hawaiian burial sites from the Department of Land and Natural Resources historic preservation division to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, effective July 1, 2010.

• Establishes island burial councils for Hawaii, Maui/Lanai/Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai/Niihau to identify, inventory, and make recommendations regarding preservation or relocation of native Hawaiian burial sites.

• Creates a burial sites special fund receiving 10% of annual conveyance tax revenues to support preservation and protection operations.

• Extends burial site protections to remains discovered in caves and lava tubes, and transfers Kaho'olawe island reserve burial site oversight from the Kaho'olawe island reserve commission to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

• Establishes civil and criminal penalties (up to $10,000 civil fines, $25,000 criminal fines) for unauthorized disturbance of burial sites and requires immediate reporting of inadvertent discoveries to cease work in affected areas.