STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1092-16

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2016

RE:   S.B. No. 2773

      S.D. 2

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 2773, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ALOHA+ CHALLENGE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to support Hawaii in its endeavors to demonstrate world leadership in conservation and to serve as a global model of the sustainable management of natural resources by providing funding to directly implement three of the six goals outlined in the Aloha+ Challenge: natural resource management, clean energy, and green workforce development.

Specifically, this measure appropriates funds to the Department of Land and Natural Resources for:

(1)  Positions and operating expenses for the Forest and Outdoor Recreation Program;

(2)  Operating expenses and watershed protection through the Natural Area Reserves and Watershed Management Program;

(3)  Statewide expansion of the Community Fisheries Enforcement Unit of the Conservation and Resources Enforcement Program;

(4)  Mitigation of threats and impacts of invasive species statewide under the direction of the Hawaii Invasive Species Council;

(5)  Positions and operating expenses for native species restoration through the Native Resources and Fire Protection Program; and

(6)  Forest reserve system management including public-private partnerships for reforestation, fire suppression, renewable energy generation, and revenue generation to fund forest conservation through the Forestry Resource Management and Development Program.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Honolulu Board of Water Supply, Aha Moku Advisory Committee, Hawaii Farm Bureau, Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, The Nature Conservancy, Oahu Invasive Species Committee, Hawaii Center for Food Safety, Kauai Watershed Alliance, Conservation Council for Hawaii, Hawaii Green Growth, and a concerned individual supported this measure.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2773, S.D. 2, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committees on Water & Land and Agriculture.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection,

____________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair