ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2018 – 41
URGING THE HAWAIʻI STATE LEGISLATURE TO REQUEST THAT THE STATE AUDITOR CONDUCT AN AUDIT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I’S ACTIVITIES RELATED TO MAUNA KEA
WHEREAS, Mauna Kea is a sacred place to Native Hawaiians; and
WHEREAS, Mauna Kea is the most significant site for astronomy in the world; and
WHERAS, today, many Native Hawaiians continue to view Mauna Kea as the first-born child of Papa and Wākea. Accordingly, Mauna Kea is revered, cared for, and respected as the hiapo of all Native Hawaiians; and
WHEREAS, the summit of Mauna Kea touches the sky in a unique and important way, as a piko (navel) by which connections to ancestors are made ensuring spiritual, genealogical and regenerative connections; and
WHEREAS, the upper regions, Wao Akua, are the realms of the Akua; and
WHEREAS, the summit region of Mauna Kea is a spiritual and special place of global significance that is home to cultural landscapes, fragile alpine habitats, and historical and archaeological treasures, as well as endemic species found nowhere else on the planet; and
WHEREAS, the protection and preservation of Mauna Kea through proper management and stewardship is of statewide concern; and
WHEREAS, since 1998, four audits by the State Auditor have been critical of the management, stewardship, and protection of Mauna Kea; and
WHEREAS, although significant changes have occurred on Mauna Kea since the 1998 audit, negative experiences over the past 50 years have eroded public confidence and demonstrated the critical need for an audit to look into the University of Hawai‘i’s activities related to Mauna Kea.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 59th Annual Convention in Kalapaki, Kauaʻi, in the malama of Welehu and the rising of ʻOlepau, this 17th day of November 2018, urging the Hawaiʻi State Legislature to request that the State Auditor conduct an audit of the University of Hawai‘i’s activities related to Mauna Kea; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the audit include the following:
- A financial audit of the Office of Mauna Kea Management, reviewing all revenues and expenditures, the Mauna Kea lands management special fund, commercial tour operations, and all appropriations from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo for operations and staffing for the period of 2010 through 2017;
- A performance audit of the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai‘i, as it relates to the Mauna Kea observatory support services, the Mauna Kea observatories, and all grants, revenues, expenditures, and funding of personnel for those support services and observatories, including an evaluation of the corporation’s efficiency and whether or not the corporation is effectively utilizing best practice operations;
- A performance audit of the University of Hawai‘i system, limited to its legal affairs and the university general counsel office, as it relates to:
- All revenues and expenditures since 2010 associated with the research and training revolving fund, with respect to Mauna Kea; and
- Patents for scientific technologies associated with the international observatories and the University of Hawai‘i Institute for Astronomy as a result of ground-based astronomical observations and discoveries; and
- An organizational management structure audit of the multiple governmental and non-governmental agencies and entities that have jurisdictional authority over Mauna Kea, including an evaluation of their efficiency and whether or not they are effectively utilizing best practice operations and have clear lines of authority; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the State Auditor submit a report of findings and any recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Hawai‘i State Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2020; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to Hawaiʻi State Auditor, President David Lassner of the University of Hawaiʻi System, Senator Kaialiʻi Kahele, Pelekikena ʻAha Hui Siwila ʻo Ke Aloha ʻĀina, as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chairs of the State Senate Committees on Higher Education and Hawaiian Affairs, Chairs of the State House Committees on Higher Education and Ocean Marine Resources & Hawaiian Affairs. Chair of the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of Welehu and the rising of ‘Olepau on the 17th day of November 2018, at the 59th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Kalapaki, Kaua‘i.
Annelle C. Amaral, President
