146
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     HOUSE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU TO CONDUCT A LEGAL
    REVIEW OF CONCERNS REGARDING AUTOMATIC PERMIT APPROVAL.


 1        WHEREAS, serious questions remained unanswered when Act
 2   164, Session Laws of Hawaii 1998, the automatic permit approval
 3   statute, was passed in 1998; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, no state agency has met the December 31, 1999,
 6   deadline to adopt rules pertaining to automatic permit
 7   approval; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, the Corporation Counsel of the City and County of
10   Honolulu has stated that automatic permit approval could apply
11   to permits and licenses even though rules are not in place; and
12   
13        WHEREAS, Conference Committee Report No. 143, from the
14   Nineteenth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
15   of 1998, stated "Your Committee on Conference notes the
16   continued concerns of some that automatic permit approval will
17   be misused to short-circuit existing public input processes.
18   Your Committee is confident that agencies will account for the
19   preservation of such processes in their rulemaking", however,
20   with the failure of state agencies to draft and adopt rules,
21   these legitimate concerns still remain; and
22   
23        WHEREAS, Conference Committee Report No. 143, also stated,
24   "Your Committee on Conference also notes continuing concerns
25   with the interplay between automatic permit approval and
26   various board and commission quorum requirements.  Your
27   Committee deleted the quorum amendment sections of this bill
28   because the various quorum possibilities appeared to require
29   further deliberation, and your Committee believes that the 1999
30   legislative session should address this issue as the automatic
31   permit approval rules come into effect", however, the 1999
32   Legislature was assured by representatives of the state
33   administration that as agencies adopted rules, these concerns
34   would be addressed, and therefore, the administration requested
35   that the Legislature wait until agencies adopted rules; and

 
Page 2                                                     146
                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        


 1   
 2        WHEREAS, the current language of the automatic permit
 3   approval statute may force unintended outcomes from a board or
 4   commission; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, if a time period for action expires and less than
 7   a majority of a board or commission is in support of a permit
 8   or license, or a quorum is not maintained, then a permit or
 9   license may be automatically granted, even if it failed to
10   garner the required affirmative support for approval; and
11   
12        WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii is constitutionally obliged
13   to protect important agricultural lands and native Hawaiian
14   rights (Article XI, Section 3, and Article XII, Section 7, of
15   the State Constitution, respectively) but such issues have yet
16   to be addressed in rulemaking; and
17   
18        WHEREAS, a situation could arise where an agency is
19   considering a complex environmental assessment or impact
20   statements that are required pursuant to Chapter 343, Hawaii
21   Revised Statutes (HRS), but the deadline passes, preventing
22   adequate environmental disclosure; and
23   
24        WHEREAS, a situation could arise where additional
25   information is required by a department or agency to promote
26   fully-informed decisionmaking, but the deadline passes, denying
27   the decisionmakers the opportunity to be fully informed in
28   their deliberations; and
29   
30        WHEREAS, a situation could arise where a contested case
31   hearing is requested pursuant to Chapter 91, HRS, and for any
32   other period for administrative appeals and review, but the
33   deadline passes, denying citizens their rights to due process;
34   now, therefore,
35   
36        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
37   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
38   of 2000, the Senate concurring, that the Legislative Reference
39   Bureau review the legal and logistical questions pertaining to
40   automatic permit approval, including case law and statutes
41   enacted in other states pertaining to automatic permit
42   approval; and

 
 
 
 
 
Page 3                                                     146
                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        


 1   
 2        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference
 3   Bureau recommend statutory changes to address the concerns
 4   regarding quorum, rulemaking, constitutional protections, and
 5   citizens' rights to due process; and
 6   
 7        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference
 8   Bureau submit a report on the Legislative Reference Bureau
 9   findings and recommendations, including draft legislation, to
10   the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the
11   convening of the Regular Session of 2001; and
12   
13        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
14   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General,
15   the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Governor, and the Mayor
16   of each city and/or county.