THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	709
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO TRAILS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the department of forestry and wildlife has a current statewide inventory of one hundred twenty-eight trail-and-road features spanning approximately eight hundred fifty-five miles.  Trails include parking areas, comfort stations, pavilions, picnic areas, and other improvements that the public heavily uses.  In addition to the wear and tear inflicted by human traffic, which may be hundreds of hikers each day, these facilities are generally located in areas where weather takes a toll.  Furthermore, the cost of maintaining these facilities is often at a premium due to their remote location.  Keeping these places and improvements in good shape requires reliable capital investment for routine repairs and reasonable operational support for regular maintenance.  Due to budget and staffing limitations, the level of maintenance on these features varies.  As facilities and infrastructure age, they require routine, and frequently expensive, repairs.  Accordingly, one would expect to see the State providing steady or even rising expenditures on repairs and periodic replacements for a statewide system of trails infrastructure as these improvements age.  However, the State's record of capital investment in trails between 1992 and 2011, the twenty-year period when most of these facilities reached thirty to fifty years of age, shows a lack of state commitment to maintain these public facilities.  The operational budget for trails has essentially been cut annually for the past two decades, thereby rendering the department of land and natural resources unable to meet the needs of routine maintenance and operations of these heavily used public recreational places.  Thus, the legislature finds that the operational budget to manage these trails must be expanded to keep up with the growing demand for trail use and to ensure public safety.

     The purpose of this Act is to increase the budget of the department of land and natural resources' nā ala hele, Hawaii statewide trail and access program, to the amount it would be if budget increases had kept pace with inflation, based on its 1992 budget of $2,000,000, by phasing in budget increases over a five-year period to enable nā ala hele to implement improvements to Hawaii's trail system.

     SECTION 2.  The legislature shall appropriate funds for the operational budget of the department of land and natural resources' nā ala hele, Hawaii statewide trail and access system, as follows:

     (1)  For fiscal year 2017-2018, an amount not less than $2,288,105.50;

     (2)  For fiscal year 2018-2019, an amount not less than $2,576,211;

     (3)  For fiscal year 2019-2020, an amount not less than $2,864,316.50;

     (4)  For fiscal year 2020-2021, an amount not less than $3,152,422; and

     (5)  For fiscal year 2021-2022, an amount not less than $3,440,527.50.

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $           or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2017-2018 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the nā ala hele, Hawaii statewide trail and access system, to improve access to and maintenance of state controlled recreational trails statewide.

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2017.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Department of Land and Natural Resources; Na Ala Hele; Hawaii Statewide Trail and Access System; Appropriation

Description:

Makes an appropriation for nā ala hele to improve access to and maintenance of state controlled recreational trails statewide.  Requires the operational budget for nā ala hele to be increased by equal amounts over five years to reach an amount based on the 1992 budget of $2,000,000 adjusted for inflation into 2016 dollars.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.