[§195H-6]  Transition; management plan.  (a)  The authority shall have a transition period of five years beginning July 1, 2023; provided that all of the initial members have been confirmed by the senate.  During the transition period, the authority shall jointly manage Mauna Kea lands with the University of Hawaii; provided that the authority's day-to-day operations shall be carried out by the center of Mauna Kea stewardship for the transition period established in this subsection.

     (b)  The authority shall develop a management plan to govern land uses; human activities, other uses, and access, including permitted uses for frequent and seasonal users; stewardship; education; research; disposition; and overall operations.  The management plan shall:

     (1)  Be developed during the transition period;

     (2)  Be finalized, approved, and operational by the end of the transition period;

     (3)  Be updated at least every ten years with a focus on long-term, comprehensive, and coordinated planning for all of the Mauna Kea lands;

     (4)  Consider the State's energy and sustainability goals, as well as impacts to climate change, including adapting to climate change and developing mitigation measures to climate change;

     (5)  Prepare for and establish the framework, criteria, and procedures for any leases and permits;

     (6)  Incorporate indigenous management and cultural processes and values; and

     (7)  Include an aspirational statement to acknowledge and contextualize unresolved social justice issues that underpin the conservation, preservation, and public use of Mauna Kea.

     (c)  The authority shall adopt a financial plan that strives for the financial self-sustainability of the authority after the sixth year following the transitional period established in subsection (a).

     (d)  The authority shall be responsible for the establishment of a framework for astronomy-related development on Mauna Kea.  The framework may include:

     (1)  Limitations on the number of observatories and astronomy-related facilities, or an astronomy facility footprint limitation;

     (2)  Prioritizing the reuse of footprints of observatories that are scheduled for decommissioning, or have been decommissioned, as sites for facilities or improvements over the use of undeveloped lands for such purposes; and

     (3)  A set of principles for returning the lands used for astronomy research to their natural state whenever observatories are decommissioned or no longer have research or educational value.

     (e)  During the transition period, the authority may take any actions necessary to prepare for the assumption of total authority over Mauna Kea lands at the end of the transition period, including the adoption of rules pursuant to section 195H-13(b).

     (f)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, commencing on July 1, 2022, and until the expiration of the transition period, no new lease shall be issued and no existing lease shall be renewed involving any Mauna Kea lands; provided that, upon the expiration of an existing lease during the transition period, a lessee may continue to hold the land as a holdover, subject to any terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed upon by the authority and University of Hawaii. [L 2022, c 255, pt of §2]

Revision Note

  In subsection (f), "July 1, 2022," substituted for "the effective date of this chapter" pursuant to §23G-15.