STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3318

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1923

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water and Land, to which was referred H.B. No. 1923, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CAMPS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow overnight camps in operation prior to January 1, 1961, to be regulated via the special permit process.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture; Office of Planning and Sustainable Development; Boy Scouts of America, Aloha Council; Kimokeo Foundation; Maui Surfer Girls, Inc.; Maui Chamber of Commerce; and one individual.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Land Use Commission.

Your Committee finds that in March 2023, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the specific exclusion of overnight camps from the list of permitted uses in agricultural districts means that special permits cannot be issued for overnight camps in agricultural districts, reversing a prior Hawaii Supreme Court opinion that allowed for uses, such as overnight camps, to be approved via special permits if they were deemed to be an "unusual and reasonable" use in the agricultural district. Affected campgrounds would need to obtain a district boundary amendment to change the land use classification from agricultural to urban, though these campgrounds are in rural settings with no urban uses in the nearby vicinity. This measure repeals the prohibition on overnight camps in agricultural districts to allow these camps to operate with a special permit.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1923, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1923, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

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

________________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair