Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water and Land Use, to which was referred S.B. No. 981, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require a vote by a simple majority of the members of the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) who are qualified to vote and are present at a meeting for any decision on land use permits in the conservation district.

Your Committee received testimony in support of the measure from BLNR, Honolulu Board of Water Supply, Hawaii's Thousand Friends, Life of the Land, and the Sierra Club, Hawaii Chapter. The Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, Estate of James Campbell, and Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., submitted testimony in opposition. The University of Hawaii Environmental Center submitted comments.

Under current law, failure of BLNR to render a decision on a conservation district use application (CDUA) within one hundred eighty days of acceptance of a completed application results in automatic approval. Current law also requires four votes for an action to be valid.

A state Circuit Court recently ruled that unless four of the six members of BLNR vote against a CDUA within the time limit, the CDUA is automatically approved. As a result, applicants have been able to proceed with projects on BLNR votes of three-to-two or three-to-one to deny the application.

Your Committee finds that this measure would reflect the stated intention of BLNR members voting on a CDUA decision and would prevent "approvals by default."

Current law requires a member who has any direct or indirect interest in any matter, to disqualify oneself from voting on or participating in discussion of the matter. To better assure that there is a quorum and that, in light of recusals, actions of BLNR are based on four votes either approving or disapproving BLNR action, your Committee has amended this bill by increasing BLNR membership from six to seven members.

Your Committee considered permitting BLNR members to disclose a conflict and at the chair's or BLNR's discretion, to allow the member to participate in the discussion and vote on the matter. However, no action was taken at this time because of possible conflict with other statutory provisions, and appropriate clarification for future action will be pursued.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land Use that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 981, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 981, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.