STAND. COM. REP. NO. 351

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                   

 

RE:     S.B. No. 1501

        S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1501 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds and appropriate funds for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Hoomanapono Political Action Committee, Prince Kūhiō Hawaiian Civic Club, Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, and one individual.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Center for Hawaiian Sovereignty Studies.

 

     Your Committee finds that this measure provides a legislative vehicle should funding become available for the purposes of this measure prior to the end of the 2019-2020 fiscal biennium.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Appropriating funds for deposit into and out of the cesspool compliance grant program special fund to implement the cesspool compliance grant program;

     (2)  Reducing the amount of the general obligation fund issuance authorizations and appropriations to $25,000,000 for each year of the fiscal biennium;

 

     (3)  Inserting an appropriation of an unspecified amount to assist the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands with building homes, infrastructure, capital improvement projects, operating and administrative costs, fringe, and other needs and priorities; and

 

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

 

     Your Committee's intent in recommending this measure for passage is for the items expressed to be incorporated into the General Appropriations Act of 2019 or other appropriate legislative vehicle or to be adopted separately.  As such, your Committee requests your Committee on Ways and Means to incorporate the items expressed by this measure into the appropriate legislative vehicle or amend this measure to include any provisions necessary to effectuate its purpose and intent.  In addition, your Committee requests that your Committee on Ways and Means favor funding the cesspool compliance grant program special fund with general obligation bonds, rather than general fund revenues, unless in the discretion of your Committee on Ways and Means a better means of funding exists.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1501, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1501, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs,

 

 

 

________________________________

MAILE S.L. SHIMABUKURO, Chair