STAND. COM. REP. NO.  603

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2017

RE:   H.B. No. 1304

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Water & Land, to which was referred H.B. No. 1304 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MARINE EVENTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to encourage responsible planning of and preparation for regattas and marine parades by requiring:

     (1)  Event organizers to submit permit applications to the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) at least one year and thirty days before a proposed event; and

     (2)  DLNR to grant or deny permits no less than one year before a proposed event.

     For the purposes of a public hearing on this bill, your Committee circulated a Proposed H.B. No. 1304, H.D. 1 (Proposed Draft), and notified the public that it would be accepting testimony on the proposal, which among other things:

     (1)  Requires event organizers of regattas, marine parades, and surfing contests to submit permit applications to the DLNR no less than forty-five days rather than one year and thirty days, before the start of a proposed event;

     (2)  Authorizes DLNR to assess and collect a fee for the processing of the permit;

     (3)  Requires DLNR to notify an applicant in writing that it has received a completed application or has received an incomplete application;

     (4)  Requires DLNR to approve or deny a permit within thirty days of receipt of a completed permit application; provided that the permit application shall be deemed approved by DLNR if DLNR does not approve or deny a permit within that period; and

     (5)  Applies the definition of "regatta" and "marine parade" to "surfing contest".

DLNR and a concerned individual offered comments on the Proposed Draft.

     Your Committee considered the merits of both H.B. No. 1304, as received by your Committee, and the Proposed Draft, and upon careful consideration, adopted the Proposed Draft and amended the effective date to July 1, 2050, to promote further discussion.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water & Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1304, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1304, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair