STAND. COM. REP. NO 416

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1310

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1310 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STORMWATER MANAGEMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to encourage the protection of water resources in the State by authorizing counties to charge user fees to create and maintain stormwater management systems or infrastructure.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Surfrider Foundation, Oahu Chapter; Rise Above Plastics Coalition; League of Women Voters of Hawaii; Kokua Council; and six individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

     Your Committee finds that rising development pressure, population growth, and climate change will likely create increased demand for water and compromise Hawaii's fresh water supplies in the coming decades.  Your Committee further finds that it is important to encourage best practices and infrastructure investment by the counties to capture and retain rainfall for potable water before it becomes stormwater run-off.  Beneficial reuse of stormwater preserves our limited natural water resources, reserves higher quality water for higher quality uses, and reduces the amount of polluted run-off that fouls inland waterways and near-shore waters.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

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

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1310, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1310, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair