STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2234

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: GOV. MSG. NO. 609

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water and Land, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 609, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

Deputy to the Chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources

G.M. No. 609

ROBERT K. MASUDA, for a term to expire at noon on 12-05-2022,

begs leave to report as follows:

Your Committee reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by Robert Masuda for service as the Deputy to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination for the appointment of Robert Masuda from the Governor; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Agriculture; Department of Accounting and General Services; Department of Human Resources Development; Department of Public Safety; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Department of Health; Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; Department of Transportation; Aha Moku Advisory Committee; Office of Environmental Quality Control; Office of Enterprise Technology Services; The Nature Conservancy; National Tropical Botanical Gardens; Kua‘āina Ulu ‘Auamo; and seventeen individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to the nomination for the appointment of Robert Masuda from the Hawaii Hunting Association and one individual.

Robert K. Masuda has served as the First Deputy to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources since 2017. Previously, he served as the senior advisor for special programs development at the United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service Institute for Pacific Islands Forestry from 2007 to 2017 and as First Deputy Director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources from May 2005 to May 2007. In the latter capacity, Mr. Masuda was responsible for the long-term sustainable management, maintenance, protection, and utilization of existing and potential ocean, land, natural, and cultural resources of the State of Hawaii in an integrated manner and in partnership with others from the public and private sectors. Mr. Masuda also served for one year as the Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation for the City and County of Honolulu.

Mr. Masuda spent more than fifty-five years as a leader in building and operating the YMCA organization in Hawaii, the mainland, and around the world. Mr. Masuda installed strong budget controls; maintained community and government leader contacts; selected and developed personnel at all supervisory levels; initiated and managed contracts worth several millions of dollars annually; organized management teams at local, metropolitan, and national YMCA levels; and was active in the community as a board member of a variety of non-profit organizations. Post retirement he continues his active leadership in guiding, promoting, and advocating for science research and the advancement of natural and cultural resources.

The testimony of the Department of Land and Natural Resources indicates that Mr. Masuda has the ability to bring people together to work on solutions to address a broad spectrum of interests and needs. During his most recent term, among other things, he initiated the Natural Resources Advancement Team and Honōkohau Small Boat Harbor Working Group; worked with the Division of Forestry and Wildlife to promote community understanding of watershed priorities; acted as the point person for emergency disaster response; addressed homelessness at the Wai‘anae Small Boat Harbor; and worked with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Kamehameha Schools on the Ho‘olau Kanaka conference. Your Committee is confident that Mr. Masuda will continue to bring the same leadership, energy, analytical skills, sense of purpose, and passion for natural and cultural resource protection and education to the Department of Land and Natural Resources that he has demonstrated previously in the role of Deputy to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

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

____________________________

KAIALI'I KAHELE, Chair