STAND. COM. REP. NO. 862

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 838

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 838, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE LAND CONSERVATION FUND,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to facilitate land conservation.

Specifically, this measure:

(1) Increases the proportion of moneys in the land conservation fund that may be used to protect, maintain, restore, or provide greater public access to lands acquired by the fund;

(2) Increases the maximum dollar amount of conveyance tax revenues that shall be paid into the land conservation fund; and

(3) Appropriates moneys from the land conservation fund for resource land acquisition.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, Hawaiian Islands Land Trust, and one individual.

Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Office of the Auditor and Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that this measure will increase the funding available for purchasing and protecting land that shelters exceptional, unique, and threatened resources.

Your Committee notes that an appropriation of $7,482,115 for the land conservation fund has been recommended for both fiscal years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the appropriation from the land conservation fund to an unspecified amount to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

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. 838, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 838, 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