STAND. COM. REP. NO. 251

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 718

       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 Water and Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 718 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE LAHAINA FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds and to appropriate funds for the Lahaina flood control project as a match to an appropriation by the County of Maui of not less than $2,540,000 or twenty percent of the estimated cost of the project.

     Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

     Your Committee finds that public safety continues to be a major priority for the State and that the completion of the final stage of the Lahaina flood control project will help prevent stormwater from inundating major portions of Lahaina town.  The final stage of the project consists of constructing a mile-long diversion channel, incorporating four sediment basins, and a debris basin.  The flood control project will reduce the amount of sediment discharged into the ocean and on coral reefs, protecting these fragile ecosystems and preserving Hawaii's reputation as a top tourist destination.

     The intent of your Committee is to reduce the repetitive flooding of residents and businesses in Lahaina and to reduce the constant drain on city, state, and federal resources whenever a flood occurs by securing funds, as a match to an appropriation by the County of Maui, to finish the Lahaina flood control project in its last and most critical stage.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying that the Lahaina flood control project shall be owned and managed by the County of Maui;

     (2)  Changing the expending agency to the county of Maui, as they are funding a portion of the project but will be responsible for the complete design and construction of the entire project;

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

     (4)  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 Water and Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 718, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 718, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

____________________________

LAURA H. THIELEN, Chair