STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1244-16

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2016

RE:   S.B. No. 2906

      H.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 Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2906, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SECTION 13 OF ACT 380, SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII 1997,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to permanently allow the use of new safe harbor agreements, habitat conservation plans, and incidental take licenses as recovery options for conserving and protecting the State's threatened and endangered species.  This measure also requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources to submit biennial reports to the Legislature on safe harbor agreements.

The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, Sempra US Gas and Power, Kamehameha Schools, and Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii provided testimony in support of the measure.  The Department of Land and Natural Resources provided testimony in support of the measure with amendments.  The Conservation Council for Hawaii provided comments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by deleting the language requiring reporting of safe harbor agreements for which approval is pending.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2906, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2906, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair