STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1254

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1345

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1345, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR NATURAL DISASTERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate emergency funding for emergency relief operations statewide resulting from the October 15, 2006, Kiholo Bay Earthquake disaster.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by The Judiciary, State of Hawaii; Department of Accounting and General Services; Department of Human Services; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Education; Director of the State Civil Defense; Mayor of the County of Hawaii; Daughters of Hawaii, and Vice President for Administration for the University of Hawai‘i System.

     Your Committee finds that pursuant to the requirements set forth in Article VII, Section 9, of the Hawaii State Constitution, the Governor, in Governor's Message No. 233 to the Legislature, requested immediate consideration and passage of this measure by the Legislature citing an existing critical funding shortage.

     Specifically, this measure appropriates general funds to:

     (1)  Cover operational expenses associated with the earthquake disaster recovery efforts in the amount of $18,189,896 for fiscal year 2006-2007; and

     (2)  Cover the twenty-five per cent non-federal cost share for earthquake disaster recovery projects eligible under the Federal Emergency Management Agency's public assistance program in the amount of $5,810,104 for fiscal year 2006-2007.

     Your Committee amended this measure by adding emergency appropriations to:

     (1)  Broaden the scope of the appropriation of general funds, to include the emergency repair of the Kohala Ditch in North Kohala, including access roads, trails, and flume repairs between Honokane Nui intake and the Niulii Weir and for the repair and restoration of the Hulihe‘e Palace located in Kailua-Kona;

     (2)  Appropriate funds in the amount of $635,000 for fiscal year 2006-2007, to cover costs of assessing and analyzing the structural integrity of building and repairing the damage to the District Court of the First Circuit, including the Judiciary's twenty-five per cent cost share under the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Public Assistance Program to cover its operational expenses associated with the October 15, 2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake;

     (3)  Appropriate unspecified funds to ensure that the water irrigation sources in North Hawaii Island are sustained for the agricultural sector as follows: 

          (A)  Hire consultants to:

               (i)  Investigate and survey alternate sources of irrigation water for the Island of Hawaii;

              (ii) Develop and coordinate plans for public and private partnerships to improve and protect sources and distribution of irrigation water on the Island of Hawaii; and

             (iii) Investigate and survey areas along I‘ilani Highways 31/37 impacted by rock slides at Manawainui Gulch, Alelele Bay, and Kalepa Bay; and

          (B)  Cover repair and recovery costs of rock slide scaling operations to include the protection of cultural resources that are not covered by the Federal Public Assistance Program; and

     (4)  Make technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     It is the intent of your Committee to broaden the assistance in the repair of the vast amount of damage caused by the October 15, 2006, Kiholo Bay earthquake and improve Hawaii's readiness for future disasters.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1345, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1345, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

____________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair