STAND. COM. REP. NO.315-02

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 2110

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2110 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO KAHO'OLAWE ISLAND RESERVE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a process to develop appropriate warnings and signage for access to and use of Kaho'olawe Island Reserve. This measure creates a Task Force on Warning Signs and Devices for the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve ("Task Force").

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission. Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii commented on this bill.

Your Committee finds that Congressional authorization for the cleanup of Kaho'olawe by the United States Navy is expected to cease within the next year and a half. Before the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve becomes accessible, it is in the best interest of the public for a task force of knowledgeable professionals to determine how best to communicate warnings about hazards such as unexploded ordnance. Consistent with the testimony of the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission, the sense of your Committee is that this task force ought to be formed as soon as practicable following approval of this measure.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Providing that the Task Force shall be administratively attached to the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission ("Commission"), rather than the Department of Land and Natural Resources;

(2) Deleting provisions that:

(a) Deny the State has a duty to warn of dangerous natural conditions in the ocean adjacent to the island;

(b) Create a conclusive presumption that warnings approved by the Commission are legally adequate; and

(c) Require consultation between the Task Force and the Commission before design or placement of a warning sign or device can be approved;

(3) Delaying the effective date of revisions to chapter 662, Hawaii Revised Statutes, until the United States Navy transfers to the State of Hawaii control of access to the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2110, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2110, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,

 

____________________________

ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair