STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2036

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2640

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred S.B. No. 2640 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WATER SECURITY,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish a two-year pilot program for a water security advisory group to enable public-private partnerships that increase water security by providing matching state funds for projects and programs that:

 

     (1)  Increase the recharge of groundwater resources;

 

     (2)  Encourage the reuse of water and reduce the use of potable water for landscaping irrigation; and

 

     (3)  Improve the efficiency of potable and agricultural water use.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaii Community Foundation, Hawaii Fresh Water Initiative, Conservation Council for Hawaii, and the Nature Conservancy.

 

     Your Committee finds that new and innovative partnerships are needed to catalyze large-scale investment in Hawaii's sustainable development, such as the Aloha+ Natural Capital Investment Partnership, which is a joint public-private conservation commitment that will demonstrate Hawaii's commitment to natural resources management with a special focus on climate resilience at the World Conservation Congress and beyond.  Reliable, long-term funding is also needed to meet the State's Aloha+ Challenge conservation targets by 2030, which will require partners from multiple sectors, including county, state, and federal governments as well as private philanthropic and corporate entities, to work together to leverage funds and provide matching opportunities.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2640 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

 

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture,

 

 

 

________________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair