STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3120

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 1977

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs and Water and Land, to which was referred H.B. No. 1977, H.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FLOOD MITIGATION,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to develop strategic regional flood plans and submit a progress report to the Legislature on development of the plans.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawaii and eleven individuals.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

 

     Your Committees find that the threat of floods and flood-related disasters are concerns for which the State should be readily prepared.  Therefore, your Committees find that proper flood planning for the State is essential to help mitigate and respond to damaging flooding.  Accordingly, this measure requires the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to develop strategic regional flood plans that address flood mitigation, flood water retention, flood diversion, and catastrophic floods.

 

     However, your Committees acknowledge the testimony presented by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and Department of Land and Natural Resources indicating that the most effective way to develop the proposed regional flood plans would be through a working group administered by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Land and Natural Resources as support and comprised of appropriate county, state, and federal agencies that have authority over and involvement in flood management.

 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Deleting language that would have required the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to develop strategic regional flood plans;

 

     (2)  Requiring the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, along with the Board of Land and Natural Resources as support, to convene a working group composed at their discretion, of the appropriate county, state, and federal agencies that have authority over or involvement in flood mitigation, flood water retention, flood diversion or preparation, and recovery activities, to develop strategic regional flood plans that address flood mitigation, flood water retention, flood diversion, and catastrophic floods;

 

     (3)  Changing its effective date to upon approval;

 

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs and Water and Land that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1977, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1977, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs and Water and Land,

 

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair

 

________________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair