STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1591

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 646

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Energy and Environment, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 646, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

 

Environmental Council

 

G.M. No. 646

ROBERT PARSONS,

for a term to expire 6-30-2018,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee has reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by the nominee and finds Robert Parsons to possess the requisite qualifications to be nominated to the Environmental Council.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Mr. Parsons from the Office of Environmental Quality Control, The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, Zero Waste Kauai, and six individuals.

 

     Mr. Parsons has significant experience pertaining to the environment, including authoring over one hundred seventy-five articles as a freelance eco-journalist and working as an Environmental Consultant to Food & Water Watch, based in Washington D.C.  He is in his ninth year as the Maui County Environmental Coordinator and serves as the county liaison or representative to various conservation and environmental organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, Hawaii Green Growth, Maui Conservation Alliance, Maui Invasive Species Committee, and Maui Nui Marine Resource Council.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with a minor in Communications, from Denison University in Ohio.

 

     Your Committee finds that Mr. Parson's community involvement, knowledge, and appreciation for the complexity of natural resource and environmental issues provide him with the expertise necessary to serve on the Environmental Council.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy and Environment,

 

 

 

____________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair