STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2366

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2447

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2447 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COURTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to exempt all proceedings relating to parking violations under certain administrative rules from the exclusive, original jurisdiction of the environmental courts.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Judiciary and Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committee finds that most of the parking violations at the State's small boat harbors and state parks do not pose direct or severe impacts to the State's natural or cultural resources. These cases can be easily and more efficiently processed through the regular district courts or the Traffic Violations Bureau of the First Circuit. Removing these cases from the jurisdiction of the environmental courts will allow the courts to focus on more serious environmental cases.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of July 1, 2035, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2447, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2447, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair