STAND. COM. REP. NO. 417

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 1430

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 1430 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SOLID WASTE CONTROL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is extend the applicability of solid waste disposal prohibition laws, including the felony disposal laws, to volumes equal to or greater than one cubic yard.

Illegal dumping is a persistent problem throughout the State, marring the beauty of our roads, communities, and countryside. The effects of illegal dumping are particularly detrimental in Hawaii, where the state economy depends on tourism and where the major attraction for tourists is the clean, natural environment.

Your Committee received testimony in support of the measure from a private citizen. The Department of Health submitted testimony deferring to the testimony of the Department of the Attorney General. The Department of the Attorney General and the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Hawaii testified that, as written, the measure would have the unintended result of turning all solid waste disposal violations into petty misdemeanors. To correct this unintended result, both departments recommended amending the measure by having the petty misdemeanor disposal offense apply to volumes up to a certain amount, and the felony disposal offense apply to volumes greater than the limit set for the petty misdemeanor offense.

Your Committee has amended the measure by:

(1) Adding a new section to the solid waste disposal law for petty misdemeanor disposal, which section:

(A) Applies to volumes equal to or greater than one cubic yard and less than ten cubic yards of solid waste; and

(B) Sets forth the same penalties for petty misdemeanor offenses that were formerly provided for in section 342H-30, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(2) Amending section 342H-30, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by:

(A) Deleting the penalty provisions that were applicable to petty misdemeanor offenses transferred to the new petty misdemeanor section created by the bill;

(B) Prohibiting illegal disposal of solid waste in volumes equal to or greater than one cubic yard; and

(C) Adding "civil" to the section title which, as amended, reads: "Prohibition; civil."; and

(3) Amending Section 342H-37, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by changing the volume applicable to felony disposal after two separate prior sentences to an amount equal to or greater than one cubic yard.

Your Committee has also amended the bill by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1430, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1430, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection,

 

____________________________

HERMINA MORITA, Chair