STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2731

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                

 

RE:    S.B. No. 3068

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 3068, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO climate change,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to address immediate and long-term threats from climate change and sea level rise to the State's economy, sustainability, security, and way of life.

 

     More specifically, the measure:

 

     (1)  Implements recommendations of the 2017 Hawaii Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report by the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission; and

 

     (2)  Appropriates moneys to state agencies and the counties to implement the report's recommendations.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency of the City and County of Honolulu; the Board of Water Supply of the City and County of Honolulu; the Oahu County Committee Legislative Priorities Committee, Democratic Party of Hawaii; and three individuals.

 

     Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Office of Planning, and the Land Use Commission.

 

     Your Committee finds that climate change and sea level rise pose immediate and long-term threats to the State and that Act 32, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, established the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission (Commission) to help address those threats.

 

     Act 32 directed the Commission to develop sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation reports that include:

 

     (1)  Identification of the major areas of sea level rise impacts affecting the State and counties through 2050;

 

     (2)  Identification of expected impacts of sea level rise based on the latest scientific research for each area through 2050;

 

     (3)  Identification of the economic ramifications of sea level rise;

 

     (4)  Identification of applicable federal laws, policies, or programs that impact affected areas; and

 

     (5)  Recommendations for planning, management, and adaptation for hazards associated with increasing sea level rise.

 

     The Hawaii Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report submitted by the Commission in December 2017 identifies in detail those areas of the State that are susceptible to sea level rise impacts based on a projected 3.2-foot increase in sea level by mid-century or earlier.

 

     The Commission designated these vulnerable areas as the sea level rise exposure area projection and recommended that a sea level rise exposure area overlay be adopted to guide state and county adaptation strategies and standards for development.  The report also recommended that state and county agencies adopt emerging good practices to strengthen the State's overall readiness to address sea level rise and climate change.

 

     Accordingly, this measure implements recommendations of the 2017 Hawaii Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Correcting certain references, inserting omitted words, and refining definitions as necessary;

 

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

 

     (3   Making technical nonsubstantive changes for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3068, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3068, S.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

________________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair