Report Title:

Water Code; Irrigation Water

Description:

Requires the state Commission on Water Resource Management to delegate to the board of agriculture the same authority to allocate water for irrigation purposes, as that delegated to the county boards of water supply to allocate the use of water for municipal purposes.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

546

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO THE STATE WATER CODE.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the board of agriculture's authority over irrigation water under the state water code should be equal to the authority exercised by county water agencies over water used for municipal purposes. Since both systems provide for the public's health and welfare, both systems should stand on equal footing with one another. The purpose of this Act is to provide the board of agriculture with the same authority as county water agencies, over the water that the board purveys.

SECTION 2. Section 174C-48, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) In its regulation of water resources in designated water management areas, the commission shall delegate [to]:

(1) To the county boards of water supply, the authority to allocate the use of water for municipal purposes, subject to the limits of water supply allocated to the county boards of water supply in their role as water purveyors[.]; and

(2) To the board of agriculture, the authority to allocate the use of water for irrigation purposes, subject to the limits of water supply allocated to the board of agriculture in its role as an irrigation water purveyor."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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