STAND. COM. REP. NO.3024

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 2549

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, Energy and Environment, to which was referred H.B. No. 2549 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EXTENSION OF PUBLIC LAND LEASES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow lessees of public lands to extend their leases to the extent necessary to amortize the cost of major improvements to demised premises.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, and Hawaii Agriculture Research Center.

After consideration of this measure, your Committee has deleted its contents and replaced them with the language in S.B. No. 2242, S.D. 1, previously heard in this Committee. S.B. No. 2242, S.D. 1, added further lease extension provisions to:

(1) Allow an extension or modification of the lease due to significant economic hardship under specified conditions; and

(2) Subject the approval of an extension to comparable use, a total lease limit of fifty-five years, rental at not less than the preceding term, and additional terms and conditions under rules of the Board.

Your Committee further amended the measure to limit an extension to five years, and to clarify in the provision relating to economic hardship caused by taking of land, that the board must find that the lessee will not be adequately compensated.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2549, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2549, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, Energy and Environment,

____________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair