STAND. COM. REP. NO. 255

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1627

       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 Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 1627 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ERADICATION AND CONTROL OF THE COQUI FROG,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for grants‑in-aid to the counties to eradicate and control coqui frogs.

     Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Agriculture; Department of Land and Natural Resources; the Chair and two members of the Maui County Council; Maui Invasive Species Committee; Maui Outdoor Circle; The Nature Conservancy; Hawaii Audubon Society; Hawaii Association of Realtors; The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua; Hula Girl Garden and Gallery; and five individuals.

     Your Committee finds that despite coordinated efforts by federal, state, and county government, as well as the private sector, there are coqui frog populations on all the main Hawaiian islands.  Additional funding at the county level, as proposed in this measure, would support the comprehensive statewide effort outlined in "Hawaii's Coqui Frog Management, Research, and Education Plan", developed by key stakeholders in 2006.

     It is the intent of your Committee to support the ongoing efforts to control the coqui frog population, and to keep this invasive species from spreading further throughout the islands.

     Your Committee has amended this measure to appropriate $300,000 to be expended by the County of Kauai, as specified in S.B. No. 719.  Your Committee notes that the $2,000,000 appropriation contained in this measure, and to be expended by the County of Hawaii, is identical to the appropriation in S.B. No. 1595.  Your Committee has left the appropriated amounts unspecified for the County of Maui and the City and County of Honolulu, awaiting further information from the respective counties.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1627, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1627, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy and Environment,

____________________________

RON MENOR, Chair