STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1375

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: S.B. No. 15

S.D. 1

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Water & Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 15, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to amend the definition of "historic property" under the State's Historic Preservation Program to include only properties that are over fifty years old and:

(1) Meet the criteria for being entered into the Hawaii Register of Historic Places; or

(2) Have important value to Native Hawaiians or other ethnic groups of the State because of associations with cultural practices formerly or currently carried out at the property, or associations with traditional beliefs, events, or oral accounts that are important to history, traditional practices, and cultural identity.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources; Historic Hawai‘i Foundation; Ko‘olau Foundation; Grassroot Institute of Hawaii; and two individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from NAIOP Hawaii. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu.

Your Committee finds that the existing definition of "historic property" is overly broad and does not take into consideration whether a structure, object, or site maintains sufficient integrity and significance to be identified as a "historic property". Your Committee believes that narrowing the definition to require historic properties to be evaluated on their integrity and significance, rather than just their age, will align the State with the federal definition of "historic property" and streamline historic preservation reviews that require compliance with federal and state historic preservation policies.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing property that has important value to Native Hawaiians or other ethnic groups of the State from the definition of "historic property";

(2) Excluding proposed projects on existing residential property and proposed projects in nominally sensitive areas from the State's Historic Preservation Program review under certain circumstances;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water & Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 15, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 15, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

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

____________________________

MARK J. HASHEM, Chair