STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2136

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 3065

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred S.B. No. 3065 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO KAENA POINT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to permanently increase and strengthen the presence of enforcement officers and on-site educational staff as well as remote monitoring for Ka‘ena Point State Park and Ka‘ena Point Natural Area Reserve by:

     (1)  Authorizing the Department of Land and Natural Resources to establish a system of user fees and a log-in system for visitors and users of Ka‘ena Point State Park and Ka‘ena Point Natural Area Reserve; and

     (2)  Appropriating funds for additional enforcement officers and on-site educational staff for Ka‘ena Point State Park and Ka‘ena Point Natural Area Reserve for full-time, around the clock coverage, and remote monitoring to document usage in other areas.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Aha Moku Advisory Committee, Pacific Rim Conservation, Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea, Humane Society of the United States, Conservation Council for Hawai‘i, Friends of Ka‘ena, and thirteen individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

     Your Committee finds that Ka‘ena Point State Park and Ka‘ena Point Natural Area Reserve are spectacular protected coastal areas with rich cultural, natural, historic, and recreational resources, including rare and endangered species.  Due to their very remote location, the park and natural area reserve are not adequately staffed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources to ensure the safety of users and to ensure that users of the park and reserve respect and protect the precious natural resources of the area.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting language that would have authorized the Department of Land and Natural Resources to establish user fees for Ka‘ena Point State Park and Ka‘ena Point Natural Area Reserve;

     (2)  Deleting language that would have required full-time, around the clock coverage of Ka‘ena Point State Park and Ka‘ena Point Natural Area Reserve by an officer or educational ambassador; and

     (3)  Inserting an appropriation amount of $696,104 to be allocated for a Division of State Parks Interpretive Technician and five Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers, ancillary equipment, and vehicle needs.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3065, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3065, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture,

________________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair