STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1303-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: S.B. No. 3330

S.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water & Land and Labor & Tourism, to which was referred S.B. No. 3330, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PUPUKEA MARINE LIFE CONSERVATION DISTRICT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Department of Land and Natural Resources to establish and conduct a three-year Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District Carrying Capacity Pilot Program.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; Hi‘ipaka, LLC; Hawaii's Thousand Friends; Friends of Hanauma Bay; Surfrider Foundation – Hawai‘i Region; Center for Biological Diversity; Hawai‘i Reef and Ocean Coalition; He‘eia National Estuarine Research Reserve; Kua‘āina Ulu ‘Auamo; Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea; Shoreline Conservation Initiative; Kanalani Ohana Farm; and eighteen individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committees find that the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District, a one hundred acre marine life reserve, is one of only three state-designated marine life conservation districts on the island of Oahu; the other two districts are Hanauma Bay and Waikiki. In contrast to Hanauma Bay, which has many protections ranging from limited foot and vehicle traffic to a reservation system and twice weekly closure requirements, this area of the North Shore of Oahu is accessible from multiple locations along the shoreline and adjacent beach parks every day of the year. The consequences of unlimited human access to sensitive areas of the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District include damage to marine habitats, damage to and harassment of marine life, damage to coral, disrespect for cultural norms, and increased pollution. This measure seeks to assess the carrying capacity of certain areas in the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District and assess the effectiveness of closures and other restrictions to reduce the human impact on these environmentally sensitive areas.

Your Committees respectfully request that should your Committee on Finance choose to hear this measure, it consider appropriating $100,000 per year for three years to the Department of Land and Natural Resources to establish and implement the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District Carrying Capacity Pilot Program.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water & Land and Labor & Tourism that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3330, S.D. 1, and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water & Land and Labor & Tourism,

____________________________ RICHARD H.K. ONISHI, Chair

____________________________ DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair