STAND. COM. REP. NO.  803

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2011

RE:   H.B. No. 318

      H.D. 2

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 318, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VOG,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to discuss the impact of vog on the people of Hawaii and find ways to address these issues by establishing a Volcanic Activity Task Force.

     The Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation and several concerned individuals testified in support of this bill.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Changing the name of the Volcanic Activity Task Force to the County of Hawaii Interagency Task Force on Vog (Task Force);

     (2)  Establishing the Task Force within the civil defense agency of the County of Hawaii rather than within the Civil Defense Division of the State Department of Defense (State Civil Defense);

     (3)  Clarifying that the Task Force is required to review effects and impact specifically related to vog rather than volcanic activity;

     (4)  Requiring the Task Force to simply make recommendations, rather than develop a plan and make recommendations to address certain issues the Task Force determines are feasible to address;

     (5)  Requiring the Task Force to meet quarterly instead of bi-monthly;

     (6)  Requiring the Civil Defense Agency of the County of Hawaii to provide administrative support to the Task Force rather than State Civil Defense;

     (7)  Stipulating that the Administrator of the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency serve as the Chair of the Task Force instead of the Vice Director of State Civil Defense but retaining the Vice Director of State Civil Defense as a member of the Task Force;

     (8)  Removing the Mayor of the County of Hawaii; Director of the Hawaii County Department of Public Works; and representative from the Hawaii Volcano Observatory as members of the Task Force;

     (9)  Adding the Hawaii County Fire Chief; District Health Officer of the Department of Health; and the Hawaii District Manager of the Highways Division of the Department of Transportation to the Task Force; and

     (10) Requiring that the Task Force work in conjunction with the State Interagency Task Force on Sulfur Dioxide Hazards and submit a report recommending measures and strategies to mitigate the effects of vog to the Legislature rather than the Task Force simply submitting a preliminary plan and strategy report to the Legislature.

     Technical, nonsubstantive amendments have also been made for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 318, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 318, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair