HONOLULU (KHON2) — Senate Minority Leader Kurt Fevella sent a letter requesting the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) to be investigated following allegations regarding their State and Federal funds.
In the letter, he noted that the DHHL had transferred $125 million of trust funds from the Hawaii State Legislature into a savings account instead of utilizing it for the Hawaiian homesteading program to develop land and build homestead lots for Native Hawaiians.
“The department’s actions of setting aside trusts funds into a savings account highlights the need for reform and renewed leadership at DHHL,” said Senator Fevella. “It is disingenuous and misleading for the department to seek additional funding and revenue opportunities from the State and Federal government when they already possess a large sum of monies that can be used to build homes and construct needed infrastructure for beneficiaries.”
Senator Fevella sent the letter to Secretary Deb Haaland from the Department of Interior and Attorney General Merrick Garland from the Department of Justice in order for their departments to formally investigate these allegations.
