STAND. COM. REP. NO. 12

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 100

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water and Land and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 100 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE KAHOOLAWE ISLAND RESERVE COMMISSION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Appropriate funds for the Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission; and

(2) Fund three full-time equivalent (3.00 FTE) permanent positions for the Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission, and twenty-one individuals.

Your Committees find that over the past nineteen years, the Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission has developed innovative and effective restoration projects that serve as a foundation for the future restoration of the island. In 2016, the Commission submitted a detailed financial self-sufficiency and sustainability plan to establish the necessary baseline level of funding needed to continue work on Kaho‘olawe. As a result, Act 49, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, provided general funds and authorized fifteen positions for fiscal years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. However, these funds were only enough to support staffing, Maui-based facilities, and Maui-based operations. Thus, Act 140, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, provided additional general funds for Kaho‘olawe island safety and operations, and Act 248, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, provided a one-time infusion of $400,000 in general funds for Kaho‘olawe island-based operations and additional cultural resource staffing.

Your Committees find that although previous funding provided critical relief for field operations after two years of fiscal austerity, additional funding is needed to ensure that Kaho‘olawe's on-island operations, safety, and infrastructure are maintained, and that the island remains open for critical restoration and cultural activities. Further, the increased severity of long-term weather conditions in and around the waters surrounding Kaho‘olawe and Maui require additional positions to augment the Commission's boat operations and to expand coastal erosion and shoreline protection projects on Kaho‘olawe. Therefore, this measure appropriates funds for the Commission and funds three full-time equivalent (3.00 FTE) permanent positions to support the Commission's management, protection, and restoration of the cultural and historical resources of Kaho‘olawe.

Your Committees have heard the testimony of the Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission, which requested that language be included in the measure that would fund the Commission permanently. Your Committees find that this issue raises concerns that merit further consideration and request that your Committee on Ways and Means further examine those issues and concerns raised by the testifiers on this measure.

Therefore, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting blank appropriation amounts; and

(2) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water and Land and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 100, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 100, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water and Land and Hawaiian Affairs,

________________________________ MAILE S.L. SHIMABUKURO, Chair

________________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair