HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1352
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to water.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  Section 174C-101, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§174C-101  Native Hawaiian water rights.  (a)  Provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to amend or modify rights or entitlements to water as provided for by the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, as amended, and by chapters 167 and 168, relating to the Molokai irrigation system.  Decisions of the commission on water resource management relating to the planning for, regulation, management, and conservation of water resources in the State [shall], to the extent applicable and consistent with other legal requirements and authority, shall incorporate and protect adequate reserves of water for current and foreseeable development and use of Hawaiian home lands as set forth in section 221 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.

     (b)  No provision of this chapter shall diminish or extinguish trust revenues derived from existing water licenses unless compensation is made.

     (c)  Traditional and customary rights of ahupua‘a tenants who are descendants of native Hawaiians who inhabited the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778 shall not be abridged or denied by this chapter.  [Such] The traditional and customary rights shall include, but not be limited to, the cultivation or propagation of taro on one's own kuleana and the gathering of hihiwai, opae, o‘opu, limu, thatch, ti leaf, aho cord, and medicinal plants for subsistence, cultural, and religious purposes.

     (d)  The appurtenant water rights of kuleana and taro lands, along with those traditional and customary rights assured in this section, shall not be diminished or extinguished by a failure to apply for or to receive a permit under this chapter.

(e)  An owner of kuleana land shall be exempt from all state, county, and municipal taxation, fees, and charges of every kind for water usage in connection with the kuleana landowner's appurtenant water rights."

     SECTION 2.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Water; Kuleana Water Rights

Description:

Exempts owners of kuleana lands from all state, county, and municipal taxation, fees, and charges of every kind for water usage in connection with the kuleana landowner's appurtenant water rights.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.