STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3514

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 585

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Energy and Environment, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 585, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

Director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control

G.M. No. 585

JESSICA WOOLEY, for a term to expire 6-30-2015,

begs leave to report as follows:

     Your Committee has reviewed the personal history and statement submitted by the nominee and finds Jessica Wooley to possess the requisite qualifications to be nominated as the Director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of Jessica Wooley from the Department of Transportation, Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, Aha Moku Advisory Committee, About Face, Sierra Club of Hawaii, The Humane Society of the United States, and sixteen individuals.

     Ms. Wooley is currently the State Representative of Hawaii House District 48 and Chair of the House Committee on Agriculture.  During her tenure as a State Representative she has also served as Chair of the House Committee on Culture and the Arts from 2010 to 2012.  She holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a Master's degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics and Juris Doctorate from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley.

     Along with her many accomplishments, Ms. Wooley has served as Deputy Attorney General from 2000 to 2003, representing the Clean Water, Drinking Water, and Wastewater branches of the Department of Health.  From 1998 to 2000, she served as an AmeriCorps attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, providing legal representation to Hawaii's most vulnerable families.  She has also served as a member of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument Reserve Advisory Council since 2001.

     Ms. Wooley indicated in her personal statement that being the Director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control is a challenge that she must accept because she is needed.  As Director, Ms. Wooley said she will do all she can to bring people together from all sides of an issue to resolve problems, work with the administration, provide clear and consistent information, promote transparency and public involvement, and ensure that the agencies receive the best advice possible.

     Your Committee finds that Ms. Wooley's past experiences as a leader, as well as her continuing commitment to environmental issues, will be great assets to the Office of Environmental Quality Control.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy and Environment,

____________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair