Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water, Land, and Agriculture and Economic Development, to which was referred S.B. No. 3025 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) has sole jurisdiction over the Land Use Commission, state planning, and the State Planning Act.

This measure prohibits the transfer of these functions to another department.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from Hawaii's Thousand Friend and two individuals. Testimony in opposition was received from DBEDT, Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Office of Planning (OP), and Hawaii Leeward Planning Conference.

The Hawaii Revised Statutes specifically establishes the OP within DBEDT, and provides that the OP shall assist DBEDT in maintaining an overall framework to guide the development of the State. Among its other duties, the OP prepares the guidelines for the state functional plans, and provides recommendations to the governor and state and county agencies on conflicts between the functional plans, the Hawaii State Planning Act, state programs, and county plans.

Your Committees find that the power to direct the OP to report to a principal department other than DBEDT rests solely within the Legislature. Your Committees believe that land use and state planning are a better fit in DBEDT than at DLNR, given the economic nature of land use and state planning notwithstanding that land is involved. In Hawaii, land use and land planning are integral to the overall economic development of the State.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water, Land, and Agriculture and Economic Development that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3025 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.