STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1020

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 124

       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 Health and Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 124 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE CONVENING OF TASK FORCES TO DEVELOP COMMUNITY BENEFITS PACKAGES FOR THE NEIGHBORHOODS LOCATED NEAREST TO LANDFILLS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge the Director of Health to convene task forces with the counties, other than the County of Kalawao, beginning with the most populous county and proceeding with the other counties in decreasing order by population, to develop community benefits packages for the neighborhoods located closest to landfills in order to assist these communities, which may be adversely and disproportionately affected by landfills.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Iron Workers Stabilization Fund, T. George Paris, Mel Kahele, and Ron Amemiya.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from Timothy E. Steinberger, Director of the Department of Environmental Services, City and County of Honolulu; Michael R. Hansen, Director of the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, City and County of Honolulu; and Gary M. Slovin, PVT Land Company.

     Your Committees find that there is a need to study and explore options to improve the quality of life for residents of neighborhoods located closest to landfills, including the consideration of options such as tax breaks and funding mechanisms for social services in these communities.  The convening of task forces and submittal of their findings to the Legislature will allow the State to better gauge the needs of these communities and explore methods to address those needs.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting language describing the concerns that have been raised by private citizens that non-municipal solid waste deposited at landfills within the State is piled aboveground and contains potentially harmful substances; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 124, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 124, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs,

____________________________ WILL ESPERO, Chair

____________________________ JOSH GREEN, M.D., Chair