STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2646

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3299

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water and Land and Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 3299 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SUSTAINABILITY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require that the Department of Land and Natural Resources recognize that:

(A) Game mammals and game birds provide a sustainable food source and play a role in native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices, merit quality habitat, and should be managed to reduce impacts and provide benefits in reducing grass fire fuel and weed control to important watershed areas and native habitat;

(B) Sustainability of natural habitats reduces negative impacts to important watershed areas; and

(C) The State's unique relationship with the ocean requires careful consideration and management of land and ocean activities that prioritize the public trust responsibilities of the State;

(2) Require that each department, office, or agency of the State update its rules and policies to integrate the local hunting and fishing industries into any food security or sustainability strategies that department, office, or agency employs; and

(3) Require reports to the Legislature.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i, Hawaii County Game Management Advisory Commission, Hawai‘i Forest Industry Association, Hawaii Sportsmen's Alliance, National Wild Turkey Federation, Hawaii Firearms Coalition, Hawai‘i Farm Bureau, and twenty-two individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committees find that it is important to balance the management of game populations with the sustainability of their natural habitats to reduce negative impacts of significant watershed areas. Hunting game mammals and birds is an accepted generational practice that helps many local families and individuals supplement their food supply. If game and bird populations are left unmanaged, they can contribute to environmental degradation to both farmland and the natural environment. However, game mammals are also a first line of defense against wildfires that can destroy native trees and cause the growth of additional invasive plants. This measure will help guide the Department of Land and Natural Resources to balance hunting with the management of healthy ecosystems.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that game mammals and game birds provide a sustainable food source, provided that negative impacts to the environment are sufficiently minimized or offset through native ecosystem protections that merit quality habitats with sufficient food, water, and refuge to support viable populations sufficient for hunting;

(2) Clarifying that the Department of Land and Natural Resources shall recognize that proper management of game populations in appropriate areas minimizes or reduces impacts to agriculture, important watershed areas, and native habitats, and provides benefits such as reducing grass fire fuel and weed control to important watershed areas; and

(3) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water and Land and Agriculture and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3299, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3299, 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 Agriculture and Environment,

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair

________________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair