Tough decisions in the Island State.

• Position: Hawaii. Legisture's orders pertaining to the issue of self-government for the state

1893.

American settlers, aided by the United States Marine Corps, overthrow the Hawaiian Kingdom.

1993.

The Hawaii Legislature contemplates the ramifications of that act from a century past and moves to offset some of the perceived wrongs.

The Legislature appropriated $137 million to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as compensation for the state's "past wrongful uses and unauthorized takings of Hawaiian lands since Aug. 21, 1959, the date of statehood," explained Representative Sam Lee.

Several bills and resolutions were passed this session that related to Hawaiian sovereignty. A commission was established to plan a sovereignty referendum for Hawaiian self-government during the 1994 general election. And the Legislature requested the return of the island of Kahoolawe, a former Navy bombing range, to a future Hawaiian nation.

"The federal government has deemed Hawaiians a racial minority and denied its responsibilities to a people whose nation was dissolved by force," Lee said. "The state, on the other hand, has acknowledged its responsibility and has stepped into the void to undertake those measures leading to a nation of indigenous people, such as the Native American Indian nations on the mainland."

Summing up the 1993 session, Lee said it was marked by "an extraordinary array of legislation that involved some tough decisions."

Lee said several pieces of legislation enacted could serve as models for the nation--as Hawaiian laws did in the areas of land reform and health care.

"The winds of change in Hawaii are indeed trade winds, and they come much earlier and gentler than those in the East and West," he said.

A major issue facing legislators was disaster relief. "Hurricane Iniki was as destructive as Andrew in Florida, and the fallout was identical," Lee said. "Homeowner's insurance became scarce and premiums skyrocketed."

A package of relief measures for Iniki victims will spread the burden of recovery statewide. Legislation includes telephone bill surcharges for utility repairs, $8.5 million to offset property tax...