1. (a) Purpose. No exchange of public land for private land shall be made except for public purposes, including but not limited to:

   1. (1) Consolidation of holdings of public lands;
   2. (2) Straightening of boundaries of public lands;
   3. (3) Acquisition of adequate access for landlocked public lands that have development potential; or

   4. (4) Acquisition of lands suitable for residential use.

      Exchanges shall be effected without public auction. Public notice of any proposed exchange shall be given in accordance with the applicable provisions set forth in section 171-16(d). All private lands conveyed to the State by way of exchanges shall thereafter become public lands.

2. (b) Value. The public land exchanged shall be of substantially equal value to that of the private land. In any exchange, the fair market value of the private land and the public land shall be separately determined by a disinterested qualified appraiser or appraisers and the cost shall be borne equally between the owner and the board. No payment by the State shall be required should the private land exceed the value of the public land, but any difference in value of the public land over the private land shall be paid to the State at the time of the exchange; provided no exchange shall be made should public land exceed one hundred twenty per cent of the value of the private land.

3. (c) Legislative approval. Any exchange of public land for private land shall be subject to approval by majority vote of both houses of the legislature in any regular or special session following the date of the board of land and natural resources' approval in principle of the exchange. The state department or agency shall submit for introduction to the legislature a resolution for review of action on any exchange to be consummated by the board wherein exchange deeds will be executed by the parties together with the following information:

   1. (1) The specific location and size in square feet or in other precise measure of the parcels of land to be exchanged;
   2. (2) The value of the lands to be conveyed by the State and the private party;
   3. (3) The name or names of the appraiser or appraisers;
   4. (4) The date of the appraisal valuation;
   5. (5) The purpose for which the lands are being exchanged;
   6. (6) A detailed summary of any development plans for the land to be exchanged; and

   7. (7) A statement of whether the land is, or is not, land that was classed as government or crown lands previous to August 15, 1895, or was acquired by the State in exchange for such lands, and a detailed explanation of how the state department or agency made this determination.

      A copy of the draft resolution shall also be submitted to the office of Hawaiian affairs at least three months prior to the convening of a regular or special session of the legislature to allow the office to determine whether the land was classed as government or crown lands previous to August 15, 1895, or was acquired by the State in exchange for such lands.

4. (d) Exception. Notwithstanding any limitations set forth in this section, the board may exchange public land for Hawaiian homes commission's available land of equal value in order to consolidate its holdings or the holdings of the commission or to effectuate better the purposes of this chapter or of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, as amended.

[L 1962, c 32, pt of §2; am L 1965, c 239, §25; Supp, §103A-47; am L 1967, c 234, §3; HRS §171-50; am L 1969, c 281, §1; am L 1970, c 184, §4; am L 1972, c 175, §1; am L 1975, c 69, §§1, 2; am L 1977, c 17, §1; am L 2003, c 75, §1; am L 2009, c 176, §3; am L 2011, c 169, §1; am L 2014, c 146, §1; am L 2024, c 178, §8]

Law Journals and Reviews

Courts in the "Age of Reconciliation": Office of Hawaiian Affairs v. HCDCH. 33 UH L. Rev. 503 (2011).

Case Notes

Claim for relief against state officials based on alleged illegality of exchange of ceded lands was barred by State's sovereign immunity. 73 H. 578, 837 P.2d 1247 (1992).