STAND. COM. REP. NO.  283-18

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2018

 

RE:   H.B. No. 2468

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources, & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2468 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to establish a Hawaii Beach Preservation Special Fund to allow the Office of Planning to purchase lands threatened by sea level rise or beach erosion in order to protect adjacent public beach lands.  This measure also creates a task force within the Office of Planning to determine appropriate funding mechanisms for the Hawaii Beach Preservation Special Fund.

 

     The Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu, Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, Hoomanapono Political Action Committee, and a few concerned individuals testified in support of this measure.  The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of the Attorney General, Office of Planning, Department of Budget and Finance, University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program, Surfrider Foundation Oahu Chapter, and Sierra Club of Hawaii provided comments to this measure.  

 


     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

(1)  Designating the Department of Land and Natural Resources, rather than the Office of Planning, as the agency authorized to make expenditures from the Special Fund and clarifying that the Department may expend funds to institute alternate managed retreat strategies in addition to purchasing adjacent land to preserve beaches;

 

(2)  Clarifying that the Special Fund may be used to carry out other forms of managed retreat;

 

(3)  Establishing a working group in the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission to identify appropriate funding mechanisms for the Special Fund and deleting language related to establishing a task force in the Office of Planning for this purpose;

 

(4)  Adding new language to establish a North Shore Oahu Pilot Program to investigate alternate managed retreat options to address current conditions on Oahu's North Shore that may be replicated elsewhere to preserve beaches statewide and that may be funded through the Special Fund;

 

(5)  Making a general fund appropriation to the Department of Land and Natural Resources for the Pilot Project; and

 

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

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources, & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2468, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2468, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Water & Land.


 

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources, & Hawaiian Affairs,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

KANIELA ING, Chair