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Joint Statement By The ACLU Of Hawai'i, The Interfaith Alliance Hawai'i And Kokua Council
Groups Urge Legislature To Heed Community's Demand To Repeal Act 50 "The Squatter's Law"
April 21, 2005

Honolulu - HB806, the bill to repeal Act 50, the law that its opponents say criminalizes homelessness, has passed unanimously in the Senate and is ready to go to a House-Senate conference committee. Although the House has already chosen its conferees, Senate President Robert Bunda has thus far refused to appoint conferees from the Senate side.

Seven months ago, the ACLU of Hawai'i (ACLU), filed a federal lawsuit challenging Act 50 because the law is ill conceived and unconstitutional. In response to public outcry and the ACLU's lawsuit, the Legislature recognized the call to repeal Act 50 now for the benefit of all residents and visitors to Hawai'i. If the bill dies at this stage, the taxpayers will be forced to bear the costs of litigation initiated by the ACLU but which it is prepared to withdraw if Act 50 is repealed.

It appears that Senator Bunda would rather ignore the will of the people and his fellow legislators and duke it out in an expensive lawsuit. An April 21 Star Bulletin article quotes Bunda: "I say letıs go on with the lawsuit ­ let the attorney general go and fight this in court and see where we end up."

This "bring 'em on" declaration flies in the face of the overwhelming and diverse support throughout the community for repeal of Act 50. Act 50, the law that allows any person to be banned from public property for up to one-year for any or no reason, has earned Hawai'i the designation as one of the meanest states to the homeless. Senator Bunda originally introduced Act 50 to address the perceived problem of "squatting" at Mokule'ia on the North Shore, but now agencies, civic, community, interfaith and advocacy organizations are demanding that the Legislature repeal this law.

By failing to appoint conferees for the bill, President Bunda is silencing the will of the people.

The ACLU, The Interfaith Alliance HawaiŒi (TIAH) and Kokua Council urge the Legislature to ensure that Senate conferees are appointed with respect to HB806, HD1, SD1 so that the democratic process can be completed.

Act 50 has generated national condemnation. Based on this law, the National Coalition for the Homeless named Hawai'i the third "meanest" state and Honolulu the ninth "meanest" city in the United States when it comes to the homeless.

National homeless advocacy organizations have described Act 50 as "one of the nation's severest penalties" against living on public property. The legislation is particularly egregious because Hawai'i lacks adequate shelter beds and low-income housing. This kind of legislation, which allows the police to move the homeless and others from place to place, ignores underlying causes for homelessness.

The ACLU, TIAH, and Kokua Council believe that the Legislature should be permitted to enact laws that reflect sound public policy and rightfully expect that the democratic process will be allowed to proceed to completion on this measure. We recognize President Bunda's leadership role in enacting the legislation originally and urge him to demonstrate his leadership once more by allowing debate to continue on whether Act 50 should be repealed and other solutions sought to the problems of homelessness in Hawai'i.

The ACLU, TIAH and Kokua Council thus strongly urge Members of the Senate and Members of the House to support the repeal of Act 50 and to work with community organizations on finding these other solutions.

We also call upon the community to express their concerns to the Legislature by contacting Senate President Bunda by phone at 586-6090 (Oahu), by fax - 586-6091 or by e-mail senbunda@capitol.hawaii.gov and by contacting all legislators by e-mail at sens@capitol.hawaii.gov and reps@capitol.hawaii.gov.

The mission of TIAH is to provide a positive healing role in Hawai'i with people of faith, good will, and aloha; encouraging nonviolent civic participation, facilitating community activism, and challenging religious and political extremism. TIAH is concerned about creating a community of good will and compassion in our state. We definitely have a housing crisis in Hawai'i and need to find solutions where we can live together with mutual respect and aloha.

Kokua Council seeks to empower seniors and other concerned citizens to be effective advocates in shaping the future and well-being of our community, with particular attention to those needing help in advocating for themselves.

The mission of the ACLU and its Hawai'i affiliate is to protect the fundamental freedoms contained in the state and federal constitutions through litigation, legislative and public education programs statewide. The ACLU is funded primarily through private donations and provides its service at no cost to the public. The ACLU does not accept any government funds.

Related Information:
Squatter law at issue (Star-Bulletin)
Proposals to repeal squatter law delay lawsuit (Star-Bulletin)
Faulty law should be wiped off the books (Star-Bulletin)
'Squatter' law must be thrown out, replaced (Honolulu Advertiser)
Repeal or reviseflawed ‘trespass’ law (Star-Bulletin)


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