SB2.DOC

SECTION 1. The legislature has been seeking the establishment of a computerized, comprehensive public land trust inventory for more than a decade. Act 125, Session Laws of Hawaii 2000, required the auditor to initiate and coordinate all efforts to establish a public land trust information system. Unfortunately, for numerous reasons, no such inventory currently exists.

Having an accurate inventory of public lands and their disposition is crucial to the successful management of the public land trust described in section 5(f) of the Admission Act and article XII, section 4 of the state constitution. This is critical to fulfilling the State's trust obligation in regards to the land, and the office of Hawaiian affairs, as representative of native Hawaiian beneficiaries' right to receive twenty per cent of the income and proceeds from the public land trust.

The Hawaii supreme court has repeatedly held that the legislature has a constitutional obligation to clarify the amount of revenues derived from the public land trust that should be annually transferred to the office of Hawaiian affairs for the benefit of native Hawaiians. Delayed for years, work on a comprehensive and accurate inventory must begin immediately to ensure that the State meets its fiduciary responsibilities as the trustee of the public land trust and that the State's trust obligations under section 5(f) of the Admission Act are fulfilled.

The purpose of this Act is to facilitate the establishment of a comprehensive information system for inventorying and maintaining information about the lands of the public land trust described in section 5(f) of the Admission Act and article XII, section 4 of the state constitution.

SECTION 2. (a) For purposes of this Act:

"Ceded lands" means those lands ceded to the United States by the Republic of Hawaii under the joint resolution of annexation approved on July 7, 1898.

"Department" means the department of land and natural resources unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

"Public land trust" means that public land trust established in section 5(f) of the Admission Act.

(b) The department shall initiate and coordinate all efforts to establish a public land trust information system. The information system shall consist of:

(1) The inventory of:

(A) The lands comprising the public land trust as of August 21, 1959;

(B) The lands acquired after August 21, 1959, in exchange for lands comprising the public land trust on or after August 21, 1959; and

(C) The lands transferred to the State by the United States after August 21, 1959, pursuant to section 5(e) of the Admission Act or Pub. L. 88-233; and

(2) Other information necessary to assure the proper implementation of section 5(f) of the Admission Act, article XII, sections 4, 5, and 6 of the state constitution, and chapter 10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as amended.

(1) Identify or describe every parcel of land comprising the public land trust on August 21, 1959, and every parcel added to the public land trust thereafter. Each parcel may be assigned a unique inventory number for purposes of cross-referencing information about each parcel with other information maintained in the public land trust information system; and

(2) Include a title history for any parcel included in the inventory that is conveyed or acquired on or after August 21, 1959, and other information that the department determines would be useful for understanding how the public land trust has been managed and administered since statehood, and for ensuring the proper administration and management of the public land trust in the future.

(d) Beginning July 1, 2011, the department shall identify all of the lands that are to be included in the public land trust inventory. After interviewing representatives of the county and conducting discussions with the office of Hawaiian affairs, the department of Hawaiian home lands, the department of transportation, the attorney general, the director of finance, and other state agencies holding title to public land trust lands or to which lands of the public land trust have been set aside, the department shall also determine what other information would be useful to include in the inventory. At minimum, the department of land and natural resources shall determine whether the following kinds of information about each parcel of land in the operating inventory would be useful:

(1) The parcel's location by metes and bounds, tax map key number, or both;

(2) The parcel's size rounded to the nearest acre;

(3) The date the parcel was acquired;

(4) If conveyed out of the public land trust, the date the parcel was conveyed;

(5) Whether the parcel was acquired by the State pursuant to section 5(b) or 5(e) of the Admission Act or Pub. L. 88-233, or in exchange for a parcel of land acquired by the State pursuant to those laws;

(6) Whether the parcel is a subdivided portion of a larger parcel acquired by the State pursuant to section 5(b) or 5(e) of the Admission Act or Pub. L. 88-233, or in exchange for a parcel of land acquired by the State pursuant to those laws;

(7) Whether the parcel or any portion of the parcel is ceded land, and the extent to which the parcel consists of ceded land;

(8) The name of the state or county agency holding title to the parcel;

(9) Whether the parcel has been set aside and the name of the state or county agency to which the parcel has been set aside;

(10) The parcel's current state land use, state land classifications pursuant to section 171-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and county zoning designations;

(11) A description of all natural resources, including minerals and water, found on or appurtenant to the parcel;

(12) A description of every easement, covenant, regulatory condition, or other benefit or servitude to which the parcel is entitled or subject; and

(13) A description of all leases, uses, or other disposition to which the parcel has been put.

(e) The department shall also conduct an investigation into the most appropriate means of establishing and maintaining the public land trust information system, including:

(1) The type of hardware and software appropriate for storing and maintaining the information system;

(2) Whether the information system should be established as a geographic information system;

(3) The tasks needing to be performed to complete and establish the information system;

(4) The sequence in which the tasks needing to be performed should be completed;

(5) Whether and to what extent state and county agencies holding title to public land trust lands or to which public land trust lands have been set aside should continue maintaining separate inventories of the public land trust lands;

(6) Whether a single agency should be responsible for maintaining the public land trust information system;

(7) To which agency the responsibility should be delegated if a single agency concept is chosen; and

(8) The extent to which other agencies should be required to cooperate and assist in that effort.

(f) The department shall identify existing sources of data, information, and resources that can be incorporated into or used to establish the public land trust inventory and public land trust information system, including existing inventories of the ceded lands and the public land trust lands established or maintained by the federal government, the office of Hawaiian affairs, the department of Hawaiian home lands, the University of Hawaii, the department of transportation, the Hawaii housing finance and development corporation, other state agencies, the counties, or private entities.

(g) The department shall:

(1) Estimate the total cost of establishing the public land trust information system;

(2) Identify possible sources of funding to defray that cost; and

(3) Identify the factors to be considered in prioritizing the expenditures to be made in each fiscal year,

if an incremental or phased implementation process is used to complete the system.

SECTION 3. All state and county agencies shall assist the department in facilitating the establishment of the public land trust information system and shall comply with any and all requests the department may make for any information and services pertinent to the completion of the information system.

SECTION 4. (a) The department shall submit a progress report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular sessions of 2011 and 2012. The progress report shall:

(1) Indicate what is necessary to complete the public land trust inventory and the public land trust information system; and

(2) Include any proposed legislation that the department deems necessary to facilitate the expeditious completion and support of the inventory and information system.

(b) The inventory and information system shall be completed and operational by December 31, 2012, unless the department advises the legislature otherwise in a progress report.

SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2011-2012 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2012-2013 for the purposes of this Act; provided that no funds appropriated shall be expended unless matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis and paid to the department by the office of Hawaiian affairs.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2011.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII