A state Supreme Court ruling about felony prosecutions could prompt the state Legislature to confirm the board of a new Maunakea management agency much earlier than expected.
The Hawaii Supreme Court earlier this month reached a verdict in State v. Richard Obrero. That case, which revolved around whether an Oahu man could be charged with murder in the 2019 shooting death of a 16-year-old boy, ended when the court determined that state law requires all serious felony charges to be made through a grand jury indictment process.
Also earlier this month, Gov. David Ige named eight nominees for the 11-member board of the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, a new state agency that will take over management of the summit lands from their current steward, the University of Hawaii, in 2028. Those names were then forwarded to the state Senate for confirmation.
The two matters could unexpectedly dovetail if the Senate holds a special session to deal with the ramifications of the Obrero verdict.
Ige last week said he will not call a special legislative session to draft new laws that would address the Obrero verdict and allow serious felony charges to be leveled without a grand jury. However, a special session can be convened at the written request of two-thirds of the members of both the House and the Senate.
While legislators cannot call a special session specifically to confirm the nominees for the Stewardship and Oversight Authority, state statutes require that, in the event of a special session, the Legislature is mandated to take up standing matters of appointments to boards and commissions.
Consequently, should the Legislature decide to hold a special session on the Obrero verdict, the Senate will also hold confirmation hearings for the board members as well.
Without the special session, the Senate is not expected to hold confirmation hearings about the Maunakea board until the next full legislative session, which begins in January.
House Speaker Scott Saiki said Friday that he is polling representatives about whether there is enough support in the House for a special session.
If the Maunakea board members are confirmed, the board could potentially be convened immediately afterward, said UH-Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin in a brief statement.
Until then, Irwin said, “it is business as usual at the (UH) Center for Maunakea Stewardship. Stewardship of the mauna is still the responsibility of UH, and it is a kuleana we take seriously.”
The eight nominees for the board are:
• Kamanamaikalani Beamer, a land resource management expert with experience in Hawaii Island-based management
• Gary Krug, education specialist;
• Rich Matsuda, chief of operations and external relations at the W. M. Keck Observatory;
• John Komeiji, business and finance specialist;
• Pomaikai Bertelmann, Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner;
• Lanakila Mangauil, Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner;
• Paul Horner, president and CEO of Na Leo o Hawaii;
• Noe Noe Wong-Wilson, Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner.
The three remaining board members are ex-officio and do not need to be confirmed: Board of Land and Natural Resources Chair Suzanne Case; Douglass Shipman Adams, representative of Mayor Mitch Roth; and UH regent Eugene Bal III.
Irwin also will serve on the board as a nonvoting member.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
