STAND. COM. REP. NO.  174-16

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2016

 

RE:   H.B. No. 1041

      H.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1041, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUNTING,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to establish a Game Commission to serve in an advisory role to the Board of Land and Natural Resources (Board) to recommend procedures, develop plans, collaborate with other agencies, and provide recommendations on the allocation of funds and other non-game resources.  The Game Commission may recommend policies and criteria regarding the management, protection, and promotion of public hunting in Hawaii.

 

     The Mayor and a Councilmember of the County of Hawaii; Hawaii Crop Improvement Association; Hookipa Network; The Society for Hawaii Heritage Animals; Hawaii Sportmen's Alliance; Hawaii Hunting Association; National Wild Turkey Federation; Hunting Farming and Fishing Association; J&K Island Magic of Hawaii, LLC; Hui Kuahiwi; Grey Boar Wildlife Services, LLC; Babooze Bowstrings; Monsanto Co.; Hawaii Farm Bureau; Aha Moku Advisory Committee; The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii; Pig Hunters Association of Oahu; Game Management Advisory Committee-Island of Hawaii; and numerous concerned individuals testified in support.  Conservation Council for Hawaii and three concerned individuals testified in opposition.  The Department of Land and Natural Resources (Department) and two concerned individuals provided comments.


 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Renaming the commission as the Game Management Advisory Commission;

 

     (2)  Designating membership to include:

 

          (A)  One member from the County of Kauai;

 

          (B)  Three members from the County of Maui: one from each of the islands of Maui, Molokai, and Lānai;

 

          (C)  Two members from the County of Hawaii: one member from East Hawaii and one member from West Hawaii;

 

          (D)  One member from the City and County of Honolulu;

 

          (E)  One at-large member; and

 

          (F)  The Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources or designated representative as an ex officio voting member;

 

     (3)  Clarifying the Game Management Advisory Commission's advisory role throughout the list of enumerated responsibilities;

 

     (4)  Expanding the Game Management Advisory Commission's role to include advising the Department of Land and Natural Resources on policies, plans, and procedures related to the control of game mammals, including aerial shooting activities by the Department; and

 

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

 

Your Committee finds the name, "Game Management Advisory Commission," is better suited to the organization's purpose of ensuring that the interests and concerns of Hawaii's public hunting community are heard by the State through the Commission's advisory role to the Board.  This measure creates a balanced approach to receive the viewpoints of the hunting communities in all counties through a formal process that incorporates those views in the decisionmaking deliberations of the Board.

 

Many organizations and concerned individuals, while in favor of a commission, testified in opposition to the Board's proposal to structure the Game Management Advisory Commission to include an advisory network of island-based committees.  The proposal to systemize involvement at the local level has merits, but your Committee finds that the creation of another layer of bureaucracy would be counterproductive.  An advisory group comprising at least one representative from each of the counties would be a more efficient and effective method.

 

Additionally, the composition of the Game Management Advisory Commission has been amended to designate members from specific islands and regions of the counties, thus ensuring representation of the local communities.  Further, the Game Management Advisory Commission's charge to collaborate with "other persons who gather information and implement hunting programs and data" is intended to be a means to incorporate local community interests and expertise.  Your Committee notes that the Game Management Advisory Commission would be required to have a member who represents cultural interests, including subsistence hunting activities.

 

Your Committee expanded the Game Management Advisory Commission's duties to include advising the Department on policies, plans, and procedures related to the control of game mammals, including advice on the Department's aerial shooting activities.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1041, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1041, H.D. 2.

 

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair