HI SCR125

Requests the Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law to establish a working group to study the return of Crown Lands to Native Hawaiians.

Directs the working group to identify which Crown Land tax map keys should be prioritized for return and which entity or entities should receive and manage the lands in perpetuity.

Establishes a 9-member working group composed of representatives from Hawaiian Homes Commission, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Ka Huli Ao Center, ALU LIKE Inc., Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Native Hawaiian Education Association, and Papa Ola Lokahi Inc., plus one Native Hawaiian legal practitioner.

Requires the working group to select its own chairperson and submit findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the 2023 Regular Session.

References the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the 1993 federal Apology Resolution, and the approximately 1.8 million acres of Crown and Government Lands ceded to the United States without Native Hawaiian consent or compensation.