STAND

STAND. COM. REP. 2639

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.B. No. 2949

S.D. 2

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2949, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE VOLUNTARY RESPONSE PROGRAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to clarify the application of the voluntary response program to assist in the clean up of contaminated property.

Specifically, the measure provides:

(1) That the Director of Health may waive or reduce voluntary response program fees for public or nonprofit agencies participating in the program if found to be in the public interest;

(2) That the Director of Health may hire civil service exempt personnel to support all voluntary activities under chapter 128D, Hawaii Revised Statutes (Environmental Response Law), not just the voluntary response programs; and

(3) That the Director of Health may grant an exemption to landowners from liability under the Environmental Response Law for substances occurring in nature at levels that exceed either a risk-based standard of not more than one additional cancer case per one million or a hazard quotient of one.

Your Committee finds that the Voluntary Response Program has proven successful in encouraging owner and prospective purchasers of contaminated property to work voluntarily and cooperatively with the Department of Health to assure that proper investigation and cleanup of contamination occurs prior to selling or developing the property. However, statutory changes are needed to ensure greater effectiveness of the program.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2030 to promote further discussion and development.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2949, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2949, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

		____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair