There are always many ways to parse a ruling of the nation's nine justices, but one message comes through loud and clear in yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court decision on ceded lands: The state has the right to do with the lands what it will.

In this case, Hawai'i v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Lingle administration was asserting its right to sell or transfer those former Hawaiian kingdom lands that the U.S. government "ceded" to Hawai'i upon its admission as a state. Officials affirm the state has no plans to sell them, but the high court ruled that its title is clear, despite the language of the 1993 federal Apology Resolution.

But just as the state has the right to dispose of the lands, it also has the right to preserve them, which is what Hawai'i elected leaders should do.

The case is going back to the state Supreme Court to amend its overturned ruling, which had barred ceded-land sales. But rather than rely on further state-court intervention that is based only on state law, the best means for ceded-lands protection is through the state Legislature, which has been discussing policy options since January.

Senate Bill 1677, up for a hearing before the House Finance Committee today, remains the most workable model. It would give lawmakers the means to disapprove a ceded-land transfer through votes before both houses. That is wisely more flexible than the alternative OHA prefers: an outright moratorium on such transactions.

Lawmakers can't reasonably support a firm ban on all sales because there could be unforeseen circumstances that present an overriding public need for the sale. But they can and should raise the bar significantly against such transfers as an expression of the state's desire to keep the body of lands, held in trust for Native Hawaiians and others, intact until a final settlement can be reached.

The state for decades has held that the taking of Hawaiian kingdom lands was wrong and has sought reconciliation. The most democratic way for it to do so is through an act by elected lawmakers, who are accountable to Native Hawaiians, and to all Hawai'i citizens.

But just as the state has the right to dispose of the lands, it also has the right to preserve them, which is what Hawai'i elected leaders should do.