STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2507

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2083

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2083 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STATE-OWNED HISTORIC PROPERTIES AND INHERITED LANDS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish a State-Owned Historic Properties Preservation Plan Working Group to ensure the preservation of state-owned historic properties and inherited lands.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Your Committee finds that the historic and cultural heritage of the State is among its most important assets and that the rapid social and economic developments of contemporary society threaten to destroy the remaining vestiges of this heritage. While chapter 6E, Hawaii Revised Statues, provides the framework for a comprehensive statewide historic preservation program, including the requirement to consider the impact of state projects on historic properties, your Committee finds significance in actively working toward maintaining, restoring, rehabilitating, and reusing state-owned historic properties. This measure will work towards fulfilling the goal of preserving treasured state-owned historic properties for the education, inspiration, and enrichment of the people by establishing a working group to lead, manage, and implement a comprehensive State-owned Historic Property Preservation Plan.

Your Committee notes the concerns raised in testimony by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, which advised the inclusion of the Chairs of the Cultural Resources Commission for each county or their designees and the Chair of the Hawaii Historic Places Review Board. Your Committee also notes the concerns raise in testimony by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, which noted that the Historic Preservation Program carried out by the State Historic Preservation Division already includes a state‑wide inventory to identify and document historic properties, including burial sites, and the measure as written could be read to redistribute costs associated with completing the inventory amongst the entities represented by members participating in the State-owned Historic Properties Preservation Plan Working Group. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary to address these concerns.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language that expands the purpose of the State-Owned Historic Properties Preservation Plan Working Group and clarifies what must be included in the scope of its plan and reports to the Legislature;

(2) Adding as members to the State-owned Historic Property Preservation Plan Working Group the following:

(A) The Chair of the Cultural Resources Commission for each county or their designees;

(B) The Chairperson of the Hawaii Historic Places Review Board or their designee;

(C) A member from the Department of Accounting and General Services; and

(D) The Chairs of the House of Representatives Standing Committee and Senate Standing Committee with primary jurisdiction over historic preservation; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2083, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2083, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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CHRIS LEE, Chair