STAND. COM. REP. NO. 916

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 377

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Water, Land, and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 377, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to provide state lease preferences for the reconstruction, restoration, repair, or use of Hawaiian fishponds.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kuli‘ou‘ou/Kalani Iki Neighborhood Board #2, Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center, Aha Kiole Advisory Committee, Hawaii Nearshore Fishermen, Sierra Club Hawai‘i Chapter, and four individuals.

     Your Committees find that fishponds are important natural and cultural resources, serving as a source of sustenance and offering a wide range of educational opportunities.  In addition, fishpond restoration has become a major part of the Hawaiian cultural revival movement, with a number of groups throughout Hawai‘i taking on the kuleana of bringing once-forgotten fishponds back to life.  Currently, the permitting and approval processes for fishpond restoration are cumbersome and hinder the efforts to revive these cultural treasures.  Your Committees are in agreement that providing lease preferences to fishpond restoration would help streamline the process.

     In addition, your Committee on Water, Land, and Housing previously heard and amended two public land-related measures, S.B. No. 1521, and S.B. No. 2.  Your Committees have amended this measure by incorporating provisions from S.B. No. 1521, S.D. 2, and S.B. No. 2, S.D. 2.  As amended, this measure:

     (1)  In part I, retains the provisions relating to lease preferences for Hawaiian fishponds;

     (2)  In part II, authorizes exemptions from state and county permits, including all permits required under chapter 205A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for the Hawaii Marine Laboratory Refuge for repair and maintenance of its facilities located on the island of Moku-o-loe (Coconut Island), Island of Oahu;

     (3)  In part III:

          (A)  Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources to initiate and coordinate all efforts to establish a public lands information system, beginning July 1, 2011;

          (B)  Requires all state agencies to report to the Department each parcel of land to which the agency holds title and the disposition of each parcel to which the agency holds title or is acquiring title by August 1, 2011, and any inaccuracies in reports to the Department by January 1, 2012;

          (C)  Requires the Department to submit a progress report to the Legislature prior to the Regular Sessions of 2012 and 2013; and

          (D)  Appropriates funds to create and maintain a comprehensive statewide public land trust inventory database and to provide funding for one staff position; provided that the funds shall be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; and

     (4)  Makes technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Water, Land, and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 377, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 377, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Water, Land, and Housing,

____________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

____________________________ BRICKWOOD GALUTERIA, Chair