STAND. COM. REP. 1095
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2003
RE: S.B. No. 843
S.D. 1
H.D. 2
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2003
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 843, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONSERVATION OF AQUATIC LIFE, WILDLIFE, AND LAND PLANTS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to:
(1) Extend the application of Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP) and Safe Harbor Agreements (SHA) to public lands;
(2) Require legislative approval before the Board of Land and Natural Resources can enter into an HCP or SHA rejected by the Endangered Species Recovery Committee;
(3) Make explicit the authority of the Department of Land and Natural Resources to revoke an HCP or SHA permit to forestall an appreciable reduction in an endangered or threatened species' likely survival or recovery; and
(4) Authorize citizen suits against state and county agencies for violations of HCPs and SHAs. This measure as received authorized citizen suits for violations of any provision of Chapter 195D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, or of its implementing rules.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Earthjustice and the Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter. The Board of Land and Natural Resources submitted testimony in partial support of this measure, with suggested amendments. The Department of Transportation agreed with the testimony of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, the Hawaii Forest Industry Association, the Estate of James Campbell, Hawaii Reserves Inc., and the Land Use Research Foundation testified in opposition to this bill. Kamehameha Schools and the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii commented on this measure, and Environmental Defense submitted testimony concurring with that of the Nature Conservancy.
Your Committee finds this measure will further Hawaii's commitment to protect endangered and threatened species.
Your Committee has amended this bill by recasting its citizen suit provision in language proposed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources limiting the citizen suit provision to public agencies for violations of obligations or conditions for SHAs or HCPs on public lands.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 843, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 843, S.D. 1, H.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,
|
____________________________ ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair |