STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2880

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2846

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2846, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO IRRIGATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to transfer temporary operational authority over a portion of the east Kauai irrigation system to the Department of Agriculture.

More specifically, this measure:

(1) Establishes five full-time equivalent (5.0 FTE) positions within the Agricultural Resource Management Division of the Department of Agriculture;

(2) Transfers temporary operation authority over a certain portion of the east Kauai irrigation system to the Department of Agriculture;

(3) Authorizes the Director of Finance to issue general obligation bonds in the sum of $2,000,000 to assist the Department of Agriculture in its efforts to increase state irrigation system capacity; and

(4) Makes an appropriation for the operations and maintenance of the east Kauai irrigation system.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture, East Kauai Water Users Cooperative, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Kalepa Koalition, Saiva Siddhanta Church, and one concerned individual.

Your Committee finds that exercising operational authority over the east Kauai irrigation system could prevent the irrigation system from falling into disrepair.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Permitting, rather than requiring, the transfer of operational authority from the East Kauai Water Users' Cooperative to the Department of Agriculture;

(2) Changing the appropriation for the operations and maintenance of the east Kauai irrigation system from $500,000 to an unspecified amount;

(3) Recasting language concerning the transfers of moneys from the non-agricultural park lands special fund and the agricultural park special fund into the general fund for purposes of placing the foregoing appropriations into separate appropriation sections of the measure;

(4) Requiring the Attorney General to review the revocable permit issued by the Department of Land and Natural Resources to the East Kauai Water Users' Cooperative for legal conflicts and submit a report of its findings to the Legislature;

(5) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

(6) Making technical nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2846, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2846, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair