Establishes the stewardship and partnering program within the office of environmental quality control.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

§341-A Stewardship and partnering program; establishment. (a) There is created within the office a stewardship and partnering program, which shall be headed by an administrator who shall be appointed by the council.

(b) The administrator shall have a minimum of five years of knowledge and experience in establishing, administering, and managing land and community stewardship and partnering programs.

(c) The salary of the administrator shall be as provided in section 26-53.

(d) The administrator, with the advice and approval of the council shall:

(e) All activities and projects of the program shall be consistent with the policies set forth in chapter 344, the statewide environmental policy.

(f) The program shall be funded by the environmental special fund as established in section 341-B.

§341-B Environmental special fund. (a) There is established in the state treasury the environmental special fund, into which shall be deposited:

(b) Moneys in the environmental special fund may be placed in interest-bearing accounts or otherwise invested by the program until such time as the moneys may be needed. All interest accruing from the investment of these moneys shall be credited to the environmental special fund.

(c) Moneys in the environmental special fund shall be used by the program for the purposes of this part; provided that moneys in the environmental special fund shall be used for the salaries and expenses of the program.

§341-C Acquisition of interest in real property. (a) If any state, local, or federal public agency or any nonprofit organization is unable, due to limited financial resources or other circumstances of a temporary nature, to acquire an interest in real property for the purposes enumerated in section 341-A(d)(14), the program, with the consent of the council, may acquire and hold a site as provided in subsections (b) and (c), for subsequent conveyance to the appropriate public agency or nonprofit corporation. The program may provide technical assistance that is required to aid public agencies and nonprofit organizations in completing the acquisition and related functions.

(b) Where a nonprofit corporation or another public agency is better situated than the program to acquire temporarily a site for later acquisition by a federal, state, or local public agency, the program may loan the nonprofit organization or public agency the necessary funds to accomplish the acquisition. As a condition of that loan, the nonprofit organization shall adhere to procedures and restrictions imposed by the program in accomplishing the acquisition.

(c) The program shall not hold lands acquired in accordance with this section more than ten years from the time of acquisition.

§341-D Exemption of program from taxation; Hawaii public procurement code; grants and subsidies. (a) All revenues and receipts derived by the program from any project, a project agreement, or other agreement pertaining thereto shall be exempt from all state taxation. Except as otherwise provided by law, any right, title, or interest of the program in any project shall also be exempt from all state taxation. Except as otherwise provided by law, the interest of a qualified person or other user of a project, a project agreement, or other agreements related to a project shall not be exempt from taxation to a greater extent than it would be if the costs of the project were directly financed by the qualified person or user.

(b) The program shall not be subject to chapter 103D and any and all other requirements of law for competitive bidding for project agreements, construction contracts, lease and sublease agreements, or other contracts unless a project agreement with respect to a project otherwise shall require.

(c) The program shall not be subject to chapter 42F and any and all other requirements of law for grants and subsidies.

§341-E Assistance by state and county agencies. Any state or county agency may render services upon request of the program.

§341-F Declaration of public function, purpose, and necessity. The powers and functions granted to and exercised by the program under this part are declared to be public and governmental functions, exercised for a public purpose, and are matters of public necessity.

§341-G Court proceedings; preferences; venue. Any action or proceeding to which the program, the State, or a county may be a party, in which any question arises as to the validity of this part, shall be preferred over all other civil cases, except election cases, in any court of this State and shall be heard and determined in preference to all other civil cases pending therein except election cases, irrespective of position on the calendar. The same preference shall be granted upon application of counsel to the program in any action or proceeding questioning the validity of this part in which the program may be allowed to intervene. In addition to the preference provided in this section, any action or proceeding to which the program, the State, or a county may be party, in which any question arises as to the validity of this part or any portion of this part, or any action of the program may be filed in the supreme court of the State, which court is hereby vested with original jurisdiction over the action. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, declaratory relief from the supreme court may be obtained for any action.

§341-H Assistance to the stewardship and partnering program. Beginning July 1, 2001, the office shall provide assistance to the program."

SECTION 2. Chapter 341, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by designating sections 341-1 to 341-6 as part I, entitled "General Provisions".

SECTION 3. Section 341-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding three new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Administrator" means the administrator of the stewardship and partnering program.

"Natural and cultural resources" means the complex of physical and biological conditions including but not limited to land, air, water, minerals, flora, fauna, energy, noise, places of historic or aesthetic significance, and traditional practices and lifestyles of Hawaii's people, as they relate to environmental quality.

"Program" means the stewardship and partnering program established in section 341-A."

SECTION 4. Section 36-27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§36-27 Transfers from special funds for central service expenses. Except as provided in this section, and notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, from time to time, the director of finance, for the purpose of defraying the prorated estimate of central service expenses of government in relation to all special funds, except the:

shall deduct five per cent of all receipts of all other special funds, which deduction shall be transferred to the general fund of the State and become general realizations of the State. All officers of the State and other persons having power to allocate or disburse any special funds shall cooperate with the director in effecting these transfers. To determine the proper revenue base upon which the central service assessment is to be calculated, the director shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 for the purpose of suspending or limiting the application of the central service assessment of any fund. No later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session of the legislature, the director shall report all central service assessments made during the preceding fiscal year."

SECTION 5. Section 36-30, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) Each special fund, except the:

shall be responsible for its pro rata share of the administrative expenses incurred by the department responsible for the operations supported by the special fund concerned."

SECTION 6. Section 341-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§341-1[]] Findings and purpose. The legislature finds that the quality of the environment is as important to the welfare of the people of Hawaii as is the economy of the State. The legislature further finds that the determination of an optimum balance between economic development and environmental quality deserves the most thoughtful consideration, and that the maintenance of the optimum quality of the environment deserves the most intensive care. Additionally, the legislature finds that with the downsizing of government operations and reduction of past funding sources, approaches to ensure the protection Hawaii's environment requires the partnering of public and private resources to share the stewardship of our natural and cultural resources.

The purpose of this chapter is to stimulate, expand, and coordinate efforts to determine and maintain the optimum quality of the environment of the State[.] for residents and visitors, and to enhance and facilitate communities to participate in the effort to maintain, preserve, and protect the environment and for the state, county, and federal governments, visitor industry, and citizens to create partnerships for the long-term sustainability and stewardship of Hawaii's environment. Specifically, the stewardship and partnering program shall:

SECTION 7. Section 341-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

"(a) There is created an office of environmental quality control which shall be headed by a single executive to be known as the director of environmental quality control who shall be appointed by the governor as provided in section 26-34. This office shall implement this chapter and shall be placed within the department of health for administrative purposes. The office shall perform its duties under chapter 343 and section 341-A, and shall serve the governor in an advisory capacity on all matters relating to environmental quality control."

"(c) There is created an environmental council [not to exceed fifteen] that shall consist of sixteen members. Except for the director, the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources, and the director of the office of planning, members of the environmental council shall be appointed by the governor as provided in section 26-34. The council shall be attached to the department of health for administrative purposes. Except for the director, the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources, and the director of the office of planning, the term of each member shall be four years[; provided that, of the members initially appointed, five members shall serve for four years, five members shall serve for three years, and the remaining four members shall serve for two years]. Vacancies shall be filled for the remainder of any unexpired term in the same manner as original appointments. The director, the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources, and the director of the office of planning shall be [an] ex officio voting [member] members of the council. The council chairperson shall be elected by the council from among the appointed members of the council. A quorum shall be nine members.

Members shall be appointed to assure a broad and balanced representation of educational, business, and environmentally pertinent disciplines and professions, [such as] including the natural and social sciences, the humanities, architecture, engineering, environmental consulting, public health, and planning; educational and research institutions with environmental competence; and landowner, agriculture, real estate, visitor industry, construction, media, [and voluntary community] the native Hawaiian community, and environmental groups. The members of the council shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in the discharge of their duties."

SECTION 8. Section 341-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§341-6 Functions of the environmental council. The council shall serve as a liaison between the director, the administrator, and the general public by soliciting information, opinions, complaints, recommendations, and advice concerning ecology and environmental quality through public hearings or any other means and by publicizing such matters as requested by the director pursuant to section 341-4(b)(3). The council may make recommendations concerning ecology and environmental quality to the director and administrator and shall meet at the call of the council chairperson or the director upon notifying the council chairperson. The council shall monitor the progress of state, county, and federal agencies in achieving the State's environmental goals and policies and with the assistance of the director shall make an annual report with recommendations for improvement to the governor, the legislature, and the public no later than January 31 of each year. All state and county agencies shall cooperate with the council and assist in the preparation of such a report by responding to requests for information made by the council. The council may delegate to any person such power or authority vested in the council as it deems reasonable and proper for the effective administration of this section and chapter 343, except the power to make, amend, or repeal rules. The council shall:

SECTION 9. In codifying the new sections added to chapter 341, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 10. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 11. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.