Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 68 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Auditor to review administrative procedures and policies at Kapiolani Community College to ensure and uphold the University of Hawaii's commitment to academic quality and integrity, equity, and fairness.

Your Committee circulated a proposed S.D. 1 that would instead request the Auditor to conduct an audit of the approval and decision-making procedures and the project approval process of the Mauna Kea science reserve.

Your Committee received testimony in support of the proposed S.D. 1 from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; KAHEA, the Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance; Mauna Kea Anaina Hou; Sierra Club; and two individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Kahu Po'o, the Royal Order of Kamehameha I. Comments were also submitted by the University of Hawaii Interim Vice President for Research and the University of Hawaii at Hilo Office of Mauna Kea Management.

The Office of Mauna Kea Management was established under the University of Hawaii at Hilo to assume the authority for overall management of operational matters and minor projects of the Mauna Kea science reserve. Mauna Kea is now considered one of the world's premier sites for astronomical research because the rarified atmosphere surrounding its summit makes for excellent viewing conditions. Mauna Kea now hosts the world's premier observatories, which are owned by some of the wealthiest nations. In consideration for their use of the Mauna Kea summit, these nations pay the University of Hawaii (UH) one dollar per year in lease rent, or no lease rent at all, provided that the University receives limited use of the observatories. The astronomy research facilities located on the summit of Mauna Kea bring international recognition and status to the UH and its Institute for Astronomy. Supporting national and international astronomy programs is an important goal and acknowledges the scientific and educational benefits that can be realized from these endeavors.

A follow-up audit of the Mauna Kea science reserve will provide a means to answer the question as to whether the serious concerns raised in the 1998 audit have been addressed. As part of the audit a new management structure should be discussed that is fair to the people and to the University of Hawaii system. Your Committee finds that there are those who feel that Native Hawaiians and the general population of Hawaii are being cheated to the benefit of the international community. Mauna Kea is a profound natural gift to Hawaii with no equal elsewhere in the world. The University of Hawaii must not be derelict in its responsibilities for this resource, built on ceded lands, to Native Hawaiians and the general population of Hawaii.

However, your Committee finds that there is still public dissatisfaction with the management structure. Thus, your Committee finds that there is a need to consider a new project approval process for development within the Mauna Kea science reserve. Such an approval process should ensure that decision-making procedures are open to public scrutiny.

Your Committee further finds there is a need for the Auditor to analyze the transfer of management authority of the science reserve to a new Mauna Kea Science Reserve Authority. This consideration is aimed at ensuring that the management of the science reserve is conducted in an independent manner that is in the State's best interests. The resulting management scheme must protect the area's natural, cultural, and historic resources while it adequately and timely addresses the concerns of local groups with a strong interest in the mountain. A new and independent management authority would create and implement the necessary management and fiscal processes to protect the important natural, cultural, and historic resources of the science reserve, while giving due consideration to its multiple-use management objectives.

Your Committee has amended the proposed S.D. 1 by making technical amendments for clarity.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 68, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 68, S.D. 1.