Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Education and Water, Land, Energy and Environment and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 137 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to urge the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to halt any further development on the summit of Mauna Kea and its surrounding lands until such time as the full impact of summit activity can be assessed.

Your Committees received testimony in support of the measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter, two members of the American Friends Service Committee, and five private individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to the measure from the Director of the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawaii, Chief of Staff and Vice President for Legal Affairs of the University of Hawaii, and Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources. Comments were offered by the Office of Mauna Kea Management.

Your Committees acknowledge the tremendous spiritual and cultural importance of Mauna Kea, as well as its great environmental importance to the people of the island and State of Hawaii. Although many of these concerns were addressed in the 2000 development plan – which was generated over two years after considerable public input in response to the 1998 audit by the State Auditor – there remains an enduring belief among many members of the general public that current efforts to protect the unique resources of the mountain do not go far enough. Therefore, your Committees have attempted to balance a due respect for these ongoing concerns with a continuation of the extremely valuable scientific work in astronomy conducted at the summit – work that places Hawaii at the forefront of this science internationally.

Your Committees have amended the measure by:

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Water, Land, Energy and Environment and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 137, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 137, S.D. 1.