Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation and Water and Land Use, to which was referred H.B. No. 2577 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to provide the Harbors Division of the Department of Transportation (DOT) with greater flexibility to develop harbor lands and facilities.

DOT and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii testified in support of this measure. The Board of Land and Natural Resources commented on this bill. Hawaii's Thousand Friends and the Makai Society testified in opposition to this bill.

Hawaii is critically dependent on its harbors for the receipt of supplies. These harbors also serve as an economic driver with the growing cruise ship and ocean tourism industries. Current leasing and development procedures of the Harbors Division of DOT are cumbersome, inflexible, and nonconducive to the expeditious development of harbor lands and facilities, creating a detriment for maritime users.

However, your Committees understand the concerns of Hawaii's Thousand Friends and the Makai Society, as well as the Board of Land and Natural Resources, that the language regarding the definition of "maritime-related" is overly broad and may open the door for the over utilization of harbor resources.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by refining the definition of "maritime-related" to restrict the flexibility of DOT in the development of its harbor lands and facilities to industries directly related to loading, offloading, storage, and distribution of goods and services of vessels of the maritime industry.

Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made for purposes of clarity and style.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and Water and Land Use that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2577, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2577, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.