STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2516

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2818

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. 2818 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BOATING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to clarify the penalties for violations of boating and ocean recreation laws pursuant to chapter 200, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

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

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Ocean Tourism Coalition and twenty-six individuals.

Your Committee finds that Act 215, Session Laws of Hawaii 2024, clarified penalties for violations of boating and ocean recreation laws. Unfortunately, enforcement efforts by the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement at small boat harbors and boating facilities struggle to deter violators, and their efforts are further hindered by the inadvertent decriminalization of certain violations of boating and ocean recreation laws. This measure will increase public safety by correcting and further clarifying the violations of chapter 200, Hawaii Revised Statues, that would be subject to criminal penalties.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

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. 2818, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2818, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

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

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CHRIS LEE, Chair