Allows a county to opt out of the automatic permit approval law by adopting an ordinance to exempt the county as a whole or any county agency from the law. (SB2909 HD1)

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that automatic approval of a business or development-related permit is poor public policy. It can lead to negative consequences for the community. An automatic permit approval occurs after government agencies fail to take timely action to grant or deny an application for a business- or development-related permit, license, or approval. As a result, applications for development approvals; land reclassifications; liquor licenses; and other permits, licenses, and approvals can be granted by default.

Automatic approval eliminates the opportunity for local decision making. Applications are often complex and must be carefully reviewed, which can take significant time. Often, however, departments are understaffed, and people serving on boards are volunteers. Any good decision requires open public input, thorough discussion, and careful consideration of various needs from the county government, environmental interests, and community groups. When a government body unjustifiably fails to take timely action on an application, the employees responsible should be held accountable, but the public should not have to suffer the consequences of having an ill-advised or harmful project proceed.

Prior to 1998, only applications to the board of land and natural resources were subject to automatic approval. In 1996, the board voted 3-2 to deny the Hawaii Electric Light Company's request to install two combustion turbines in its power plant on conservation district land in Keahole. The hearings officer, retired Hawaii supreme court justice Frank Padgett, had recommended that the permit be denied on a number of legal grounds. One board member did not vote because the member owned shares in the Hawaii Electric Light Company, which caused a conflict of interest. Despite the vote, the third circuit court held that since a majority of all six members of the board are needed to ratify an action, no legally binding decision was reached prior to the deadline for action and the permit was automatically approved. After the permit was issued, fourteen lawsuits ensued over the Keahole power plant, which stalled the project for years.

In November 1999, the Kauai planning commission considered a proposal from Kauai Electric Company to build a new power plant on agricultural land. The community testified in force against the project. Two of the seven commissioners were absent at the time of the vote. Three supported the power plant. Two opposed it. One of the proponents asked the corporation counsel for an opinion on the legal effect of a 3-2 vote. The answer was that the effect would be automatic approval, without any conditions at all. To ensure that harm caused by the plant would be somewhat mitigated by a conditional approval, one of the opponents voted for the plant, creating a 4-1 vote and eliminating an automatic approval.

The county of Hawaii has granted by default a number of zoning and subdivision variances because it could not satisfactorily review the application within the time limits.

The purpose of this Act is to allow a county to opt out of the automatic approval law by adopting an ordinance to exempt the county as a whole or any county agency from the automatic permit approval law.

SECTION 2. Section 91-13.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:

"(e) This section shall not apply to [any]:

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.