STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1194-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2592

H.D. 2

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. 2592, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE MAUNA KEA STEWARDSHIP AND OVERSIGHT AUTHORITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Clarify the powers of the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority so that it may carry out its intended duties regarding land use on Mauna Kea;

(2) Transfer as a matter of law certain real property interests in the Mauna Kea lands to the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority;

(3) Require the University of Hawaii to transfer the various Mauna Kea astronomical observatory conservation district use permits to the astronomical observatories;

(4) Provide that the existing plans and administrative rules adopted or developed by the University of Hawaii under which Mauna Kea is currently governed remain in effect until plans and administrative rules adopted by the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority take effect; and

(5) Clarify that the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority has state sovereign immunity.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority; Maunakea Observatories; and two individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from ʻO Makuʻu Ke Kahua; HULI PAC; Pōhaku Pelemaka; Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi; Malu ʻAina Center for Non-Violent Education & Action; Ohanamauna; Chamber of Sustainable Commerce; and numerous individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Department of Land and Natural Resources; and University of Hawaiʻi System.

Your Committee finds that in 2022, the Legislature established the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority to govern Mauna Kea in a more harmonious and collaborative manner and through a mindset that honors and perpetuates Native Hawaiian cultural practices. Your Committee recognizes that there is a need for continued refinement of the Authority's jurisdiction and responsibilities in order to ensure that it manages Mauna Kea with transparency, accountability, and respect. This measure promotes the stewardship of Mauna Kea by clarifying the powers of the Authority.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

Your Committee believes that through this measure, the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority will be able to extend the leases for the use of Mauna Kea lands without triggering the requirements of chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes, relating to environmental impact statements so long as there is no change in the footprint or use.

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. 2592, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2592, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair