STAND. COM. REP. NO.  462

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2017

 

RE:   H.B. No. 795

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Water & Land, to which was referred H.B. No. 795 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CARBON FORESTRY CERTIFICATION,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for the certification of a reforestation carbon project at Haleakala, Maui, to be operated by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

 

     The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of Environmental Quality Control, Nature Conservancy, and one individual testified in support of this measure.

 

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount;

 

     (2)  Specifying that the funds shall be appropriated from an unspecified special fund rather than a general fund;

 

     (3)  Specifying that the appropriated funds shall be used for watershed purposes only;

 

     (4)  Adding language that contractors and other third parties who receive funds under this measure may be subject to review and inspection by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Attorney General, or the Auditor;

 

     (5)  Specifying that the Department's annual report to the Legislature must:

 

          (A)  Include a detailed financial accounting report; and

 

          (B)  Disclose all contracts and the process of selection;

 

     (6)  Removing the requirement that the annual report be submitted to the governor;

 

     (7)  Requiring that all contracts under the Department's carbon forestry project be issued through a competitive bid process;

 

     (8)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050; and

 

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

 

     Should your Committee on Finance deliberate on this measure, your Committee respectfully requests inserting an appropriation amount of $120,000 for each year of the Fiscal Biennium 2017-2019 for the carbon project at Haleakala, Maui to be used for watershed purposes only.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water & Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 795, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 795, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

 

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water & Land,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair