STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2653

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2911

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water and Land and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2911 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BOATING REPORTS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Fire Chief and the Ocean Safety Director of each county, in addition to the Director of Public Safety and the Police Chief of each county, to transmit to the Department of Land and Natural Resources a copy of every report relating to boating accidents or the theft, loss, or recovery of vessels; and

(2) Require all reports submitted pursuant to section 200‑27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to be unredacted.

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

Your Committees find that each year, there are about two to three dozen incidents that constitute a "boating accident" and meeting the criteria for entry into the United States Coast Guard Boating Accident Report Database. The data allows the United States Coast Guard and partnering organizations to determine and analyze trends in operator use of boating equipment and boating practices that increase or decrease the risk of fatalities, disappearances, and injuries. Every partner agency aims to enter the best, highest quality data possible into the United States Coast Guard Boating Accident Report Database to ensure the accuracy of the analysis.

Your Committees further find that there is a longstanding misperception that incident reports relating to boating accidents are generated by county police departments. However, in reality, fire departments and ocean safety agencies are the entities that respond to these types of incidents and generate reports that are most useful to the United States Coast Guard Boating Accident Report Database. This measure will require fire departments and ocean agencies to also transmit their boating accident reports to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, which will ultimately result in improved safety for all boaters and boating communities across the country as well as ocean users who interact with those boaters.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of December 31, 2033, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water and Land and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2911, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2911, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water and Land and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs,

________________________________ CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair

________________________________ KAIALI'I KAHELE, Chair