STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2462

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2088

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water and Land, Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, and Transportation and Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2088 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VEGETATION MANAGEMENT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Transportation for vegetation management projects to reduce the risks of wildfires across the State.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency, Hawaiʻi Forest Industry Association, and Hawaiian Electric.

Your Committees find that wildfires have become a significant hazard across the State and can have devastating impacts on our communities, native ecosystems, infrastructure, natural resources, cultural resources, and economies. Vegetation management, including clearing out firebreaks and removing buildups of flammable vegetation, is essential for mitigating wildfire hazards. The Department of Land and Natural Resources and Department of Transportation play critical roles in mitigating the risks of wildfires. However, these efforts remain ineffective due to a scarcity of funds and personnel. This measure will help to reduce the risk of wildfires by promoting vegetation management across the State.

Your Committees have amended this measure by 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, Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, and Transportation and Culture and the Arts that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2088, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2088, 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, Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, and Transportation and Culture and the Arts,

________________________________ GLENN WAKAI, Chair	________________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair
	________________________________ CHRIS LEE, Chair