HBase is a project in the Apache Software Foundation and as such there are responsibilities to the ASF to ensure a healthy project.
See the Apache Development Process page for all sorts of information on how the ASF is structured (e.g., PMC, committers, contributors), to tips on contributing and getting involved, and how open-source works at ASF.
Once a quarter, each project in the ASF portfolio submits a report to the ASF board. This is done by the HBase project lead and the committers. See ASF board reporting for more information.