STAND. COM. REP. NO.  85-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   H.B. No. 2639

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Water & Land, to which was referred H.B. No. 2639 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to effectuate its title.

     H.B. No. 2639 was introduced as a short-form bill, which is sometimes referred to as a "vehicle" bill primarily used to introduce a bill containing only a general idea as to the purpose of the bill without specific details in the long form.

     Your Committee has amended the bill to provide the substantive contents of the bill in long form so that a public hearing may be properly held on its substantive contents.  The purpose of the amended measure is to provide a comprehensive scheme of regulation for geothermal resource exploration and development.

More specifically, this measure:

(1)  Authorizes the Board of Land and Natural Resources to issue permits for geothermal resource development within a conservation district;

(2)  Authorizes the appropriate county authority to issue permits for geothermal resource development within agricultural, rural, and urban districts if the proposed activities are not expressly permitted uses under the applicable county plan and zoning ordinances;

(3)  Amends the definition of "renewable energy producer" to include geothermal resource developers;

(4)  Requires renewable energy producers to apply to the Board of Land and Natural Resources for a mining lease on state lands; and

(5)  Prescribes penalties and remedies for violation of laws and rules relating to state mineral rights and requires penalties, fees, and costs that are collected in connection with regulation of state mineral rights to be deposited into the special land and development fund.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water & Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the action to report out H.B. No. 2639, as amended herein, and recommends that it be recommitted to the Committee on Water & Land, for the purpose of holding a public hearing thereon, in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2639, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water & Land,

____________________________

CINDY EVANS, Chair