The Hawaiian governor has signaled interest in taking control of the land destroyed by raging fires, causing an uproar among landowners.
The Hawaiian governor claims foreign investors are interested in buying up property. To protect the land, Hawaii’s Democrat Governor Josh Green revealed that his administration is looking into how it can acquire the engulfed property in Lahaina.
“We don't want this to become a clear space where then people from overseas just come and decide they're gonna take it. The state will take it and preserve it first,” he boldly divulged in an interview while inspecting the damage.
While residents don't want foreign groups to acquire the land, they also don't want the state to take it over. Yet Gov. Green has spun his motives into a positive move, and residents are angry.
"I'm already thinking of ways for the state to acquire that land so that we can put it into workforce housing, to put it back into families, or make it open spaces in perpetuity as a memorial to the people who were lost," he explained.
Convention of States Hawai’i activists oppose any action of land acquisition by any outside groups, investors, and even the state government. They say there are simple legislative & private solutions that can help to ease the pain of those who are suffering, rather than forfeiting the property to the state.
“It is a ridiculous notion, that before we can even assess the recovery of our people, that Governor Green is already planning to acquire destroyed property,” said COS Hawai’i Grassroots Coordinator Brett Kulbis. "As the search and rescue is still underway, we support the efforts of all those who are caring for their fellow man... Let’s partner together instead of being caught in the ring of bureaucracy."
Kulbis recently reported on Hawaii’s Emergency Proclamation, which allows the governor to unilaterally suspend any law or regulation that he deems is an obstruction to the public's health, safety, or welfare. The emergency management legislation states that in a crisis, the governor may “suspend any county law that impedes or tends to impede or be detrimental to… emergency functions.”
The governor can also enter into mutual aid agreements or compacts for emergency management or emergency management functions with the federal government.
SEE ALSO: Will Hawai’i be ruled by emergency proclamation?
On Thursday, the governor released an update on the wildfires, which reads: “Like we saw in the pandemic, decisions we made can affect everyone across the islands. So what we’re saying now is travel should not be to West Maui. But the other parts of Maui are safe.”
The governor referred to the extended authorities the government took upon itself during the Covid health emergency, recognizing that the decisions had powerful impacts on the entire population.
The last thing the people of Hawaii need is for the state or other outside groups to leverage the crisis for real estate opportunities. This tragic event is hurting the entire community, but self-governance and personal freedom must remain a priority.
As we typically see, government never lets a good crisis go to waste. Convention of States is set on preventing the federal government from taking advantage of future crises, so the people in their respective states retain decision-making powers. We pray for our COS friends in Hawaii and all who have been impacted.
To support the Article V solution to government overreach, sign the Convention of States petition below.
