STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2273

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2065

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2065 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LANDOWNER LIABILITY FOR NATURAL CONDITIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to encourage the retention of natural lands by providing certainty in Hawaii law for natural conditions that exist on unaltered lands.

     Specifically, this measure insulates private landowners from liability from any damages as a result of the natural condition of their lands while allowing the limited, reasonable use of their natural lands without losing this protection.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Kamehameha Schools.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, the City and County of Honolulu, and Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii.

     Your Committee finds that this measure allows landowners reasonable use of their land without increasing the risk of liability.  Your Committee further finds that governmental entities should be afforded the same protections as private landowners.

     Therefore, your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Combining the classes of landowners and making the protection from liability identical; and

     (2)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, for the purpose of further discussions.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2065, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2065, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair