Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy and Environment, to which was referred H.B. No. 1294 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to clarify that the accepting agency or authority for an environmental impact statement is not required to be the approving agency for the permit or approval.

The Office of Environmental Quality Control, Hawaii County Planning Department, Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, Hawaii Resort Developers Conference, and Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc., submitted testimony supporting this measure. The City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter, and an individual submitted testimony opposing this measure.

Your Committee finds that under the present environmental impact review process there is uncertainty whether the respective county planning departments can act as the "accepting authority" for an environmental impact statement. In many instances, the planning department does not issue the final approval, but instead receives and processes the applications, and issues recommendations to the final decision making entity.

While the practice for many years has been to allow the planning department to act as the accepting authority, the lack of clarity in chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes, has led to litigation and created uncertainty in the planning process. This measure will allow the respective county planning departments to determine the completeness or acceptability of environmental impact assessments when they are not the final decision making body for the relevant approval.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1294, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1294, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.