Hawaii SB2536 amends historic preservation laws to ensure protection of ancestral remains and cultural resources.

Hawaii SB2536 amends the state's historic preservation laws to reaffirm the protection of iwi kupuna (ancestral remains) and cultural and historic resources. The bill clarifies that residential projects involving ground disturbance in high-risk areas remain subject to review. It removes the exemption for lands presumed nominally sensitive, ensuring that all potentially culturally sensitive areas undergo proper review. This change aims to prevent the inadvertent discovery, disturbance, and destruction of iwi kupuna and to uphold Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices.

Hawaii SB2536 amends historic preservation laws to ensure protection of ancestral remains and cultural resources.

Hawaii SB2536 amends the state's historic preservation laws to reaffirm the protection of iwi kupuna (ancestral remains) and cultural and historic resources. The bill clarifies that residential projects involving ground disturbance in high-risk areas remain subject to review. It removes the exemption for lands presumed nominally sensitive, ensuring that all potentially culturally sensitive areas undergo proper review. This change aims to prevent the inadvertent discovery, disturbance, and destruction of iwi kupuna and to uphold Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices.