STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1326

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   S.B. No. 840

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Water, Land, Ocean Resources & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 840 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO KIKALA-KEOKEA,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to perpetuate the cultural heritage and the Hawaiian way of life of the residents of Kalapana, one of the last Hawaiian settlements on the island of Hawaii, who were allowed to live in the Kikala-Keokea homestead area under conditions similar to those in Kalapana under Act 314, Session Laws of Hawaii 1991, after being displaced by the volcanic eruptions and lava flows that began on January 3, 1983.  This bill authorizes the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to award leases for the remaining 19 lots at Kikala-Keokea to residents who meet specific criteria and priority requirements.

     DLNR, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and several concerned individuals testified in support of this bill. 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, Ocean Resources & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 840 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, Ocean Resources & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

KEN ITO, Chair