The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment on Wednesday voted to approve a proposal calling for a constitutional amendment in the 2026 election that would prohibit live-fire military training on public trust lands.
The same proposal was adopted at the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs last week.
The vote came after Chair Kai Kahele sent a letter to Gov. Josh Green's office asking for OHA to be part of the negotiating team of the military land negotiations.
The Army leases more than 29,000 acres across the state that’s set to expire in 2029.
"The impact area today at Pōhakuloa — the 89,000 acres that was set aside just before the five-year window expired — is ceded land,” Kahele said during a Wednesday meeting.
“It is unrelinquished land of the former Kingdom of Hawai‘i. That is also something that is really important. Now this resolution will not affect those lands, because today, those lands are under federal control, but it sends a message.”
The measure will go before the full board Thursday to be added to its legislative package for the upcoming legislative session.
