STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2985

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2322

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 Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2322, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require that an environmental assessment be conducted and an environmental impact statement be prepared for any proposed use within historic properties designated by the Hawaii or National Register of Historic Places, important to native Hawaiian people or to another ethnic group of the State, or determined to be eligible as a traditional cultural property or place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and two individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Office of Planning and Sustainable Development.

Your Committee finds that there is currently a misalignment between the statutory text triggering environmental assessments for historic properties and how properties are evaluated for significance under the federal and state historic preservation review process. This inconsistency stems from a failure of statutory language to keep pace with updates to state and federal preservation frameworks, which have been modernized to better address places of deep cultural importance to Native Hawaiians and other communities. This measure aligns the state environmental review law with modern preservation standards to ensure culturally significant places are properly recognized and protected during the development of properties.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2322, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair