STAND. COM. REP. NO.1480
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2003
RE: S.C.R. No. 125
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2003
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Energy and Environment and Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 125 entitled:
"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING FURTHER INQUIRY WITH RESPECT TO THE DESIGNATION OF LANDS ON THE ISLAND OF HAWAII AS CRITICAL HABITAT,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to request further inquiry with respect to the designation of lands on the island of Hawaii as critical habitat.
Testimony supporting this measure was submitted by three County of Hawaii Council members, ILWU Local 142, Willocks Construction Corporation, Pig Hunters of Hawaii, and sixteen individuals. The Department of Land and Natural Resources submitted testimony in support of the intent of this measure. Earthjustice, Conservation Council for Hawaii, KAHEA, Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter, and The Audubon Society submitted testimony opposing this measure.
Your Committees find that adequate time is necessary for state and county agencies to study the critical habitat areas under consideration. The proposed areas are huge and in many cases arbitrary. Their designation as critical habitat areas will have a significant impact on hunters as well as other public land users.
Your Committees have amended this measure by:
(1) Requesting the inquiry be made with respect to critical habitat designations throughout the State rather than just the island of Hawaii;
(2) Deleting the clause referring to the Department of Interior providing notice to only the Department of Land and Natural Resources about their proposed rule (page 3, lines 6-12);
(3) Deleting all references to the Commerce Clause;
(4) Deleting the request of the Department of the Interior to postpone the process of designating lands as critical habitat;
(5) Adding the Office of Environmental Quality Control of the Department of Health to the list of agencies to receive certified copies of this measure; and
(6) Requesting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to report to the Legislature the basis for the critical habitat designations throughout the State.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Energy and Environment and Water, Land, and Agriculture that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 125, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 125, S.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Energy and Environment and Water, Land, and Agriculture,
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____________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair |
____________________________ J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair |