STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1185-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1881

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1881, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LAND USE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to prohibit commercial passenger ropeways on mountain lands within all land use districts.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Defend Oahu Coalition; Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs; Keep the North Shore Country; Hawaii's Thousand Friends; and numerous individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Doppelmayer and Kaukonahua Ranch LLC.

Your Committee finds that the State's mountain lands contain ecologically sensitive habitats, culturally significant landscapes, and important watershed areas that are increasingly threatened by proposals for large scale, tourism driven development. Your Committee further finds that passenger ropeways, such as gondolas, aerial tramways, and similar transport systems, pose risks of environmental disturbance, increased human intrusion into fragile ecosystems, and alteration of culturally revered landscapes. Your Committee believes that prohibiting passenger ropeways statewide will preserve the integrity of these natural and cultural resources and prevent incompatible commercial development from encroaching on the State's mountain environments.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1881, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair