STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1718

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 510

H.D. 1

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 510, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DECLARATION OF WATER SHORTAGE AND EMERGENCY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Amend the conditions, manner, and areas in which the Commission on Water Resource Management can declare and provide notice of water shortages and emergencies;

(2) Limit the duration of a water shortage declaration to ninety days;

(3) Limit water usage restrictions imposed on a permittee or owner and operator to twenty percent of the permittee's or owner and operator's last reported monthly use; and

(4) Require the Commission on Water Resource Management to maintain a list of names and postal or email addresses of persons who request notification of a water shortage declaration and send them a copy of a notice of a water shortage declaration whenever a water shortage is declared.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Honolulu Board of Water Supply, and one individual.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau.

Your Committee finds that water shortages and emergencies can occur quickly. For example, in 2024, all islands experienced drought conditions, with many areas suffering from severe to extreme drought. Your Committee further finds that existing law requires that the Commission on Water Resource Management formulate water shortage plans and adopt a reasonable system of permit classification through rulemaking to properly plan for future water shortages and provide stakeholders an opportunity to participate in the process. This measure will ensure effective and transparent planning for water shortages within and outside of designated water management areas while retaining an administrative rulemaking process that allows for public input when establishing criteria for determining when a water shortage exists, formulating a water shortage plan, and developing a reasonable system of permit classification.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 510, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 510, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair