STAND. COM. REP. NO. 106

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                   

 

RE:     S.B. No. 432

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Water and Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 432 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DESIGNATION OF HAWAII CORAL REEFS AS CRITICAL NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to designate Hawaii coral reefs as critical natural infrastructure.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition, The Nature Conservancy, and five individuals.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

 

     Your Committees find that in Hawaii, coral reefs serve as the first line of defense to shoreline erosion and tidal flooding related events.  Coral reefs act as natural breakwaters, dissipating up to ninety-seven percent of wave energy impacting shorelines and trapping sediment, which is estimated to save the State around $836,000,000 annually.  Your Committees additionally find that Hawaii's coral reefs are threatened by the effects of climate change, including sea level rise, coral bleaching, and ocean acidification, among other substantial stressors.  This measure will designate Hawaii's coral reefs as critical natural infrastructure, which will demonstrate the State's support for nature-based climate change solutions and increase the likelihood of receiving funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program to support coral reef protection and restoration in Hawaii.

 

     Your Committees acknowledge a concern addressed in testimony by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, which requests that your Committees consider adding language to this measure that would also direct that this designation be considered by the State and counties in their hazard mitigation planning and that this would streamline and support the State's ability to pursue federal grants.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Water and Land that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 432 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Water and Land,

 

________________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair

 

________________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair