Hawai’i Governor Josh Green recently signed several bills into law, including a bill that could help Native Hawaiians get off a housing waitlist.

According to Big Island News Now, Gov. Green signed 13 bills total, in a commitment to honoring Native Hawaiian education, cultural practices and traditions. One of the bills he signed is SB 3109, which aims to get more Native Hawaiians off of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands waitlist.

The DHHL has awarded homesteads to thousands of Native Hawaiians but thousands more are still waiting. SB 3109 would give the department an additional $600 million in funding to help more Native Hawaiians.

“We are looking at generating close to 6,000 additional homesteads, so it’s a very active program. We’re not through yet. We are aggressively pursuing federal funding and other funding sources,” said Kali Watson, director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, per Hawaii News Now.

Gov. Green also signed HB 2074, which mandates that the Department of Education develop a plan to implement a Kaiapuni (learning environment) education program.

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