Nelson v. Hawaiian Homes Commission

Opinion of the Court by

MeKENNA, J.

I. Introduction

We are presented with one question:

Does the political question doctrine bar Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (HHCA) beneficiaries from using Haw. Const. Article XII, Section l’s “sufficient sums” provision to demand more legislative funding of the Department of Hawaiian Home lands (DHHL), when that provision provides no guidance at all as to how quickly homesteads must be developed?

At issue is the interpretation of Article XII, Section 1 of the Hawai'i State Constitution, which now provides:

Anything in this constitution to the contrary…