STAND. COM. REP. NO. 583-18

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2018

RE: H.B. No. 2468

H.D. 2

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water & Land, to which was referred H.B. No. 2468, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to ensure the preservation of Hawaii's beaches for future generations by:

(1) Establishing a Hawaii Beach Preservation Special Fund (Special Fund) within the treasury of the State to be used by the Department of Land and Natural Resources to purchase lands threatened by sea level rise or beach erosion and carry out other forms of managed retreat for the protection of adjacent public beaches;

(2) Creating a working group within the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission to determine appropriate funding mechanisms for the Special Fund; and

(3) Establishing and appropriating funds for the North Shore Oahu Pilot Project to explore managed retreat options to address current emergency beach conditions and investigate managed retreat options that may be replicated elsewhere in the State.

The Office of Planning, Sierra Club of Hawai‘i, Surfrider Foundation Hawaii Chapters, Surfrider Foundation O‘ahu Chapter, Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, North Shore Community Land Trust, and several individuals supported this measure. The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Budget and Finance, and an individual provided comments.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the Department of Land and Natural Resources may expend moneys from the Special Fund to acquire from landowners land needed to ensure the perpetuation of sandy beaches for the public by facilitating landward retreat where those beaches are undergoing submersion and erosion due to sea level rise;

(2) Requiring prior authorization of the Legislature by Concurrent Resolution to acquire lands;

(3) Sunsetting the North Shore Oahu Pilot Program on June 30, 2021;

(4) Changing its effective date to July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and consistency.

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. 2468, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2468, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair