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Committee decision roundup: several bills pass with amendments; others deferred
Summary
During the Feb. 11 decision-making session the joint committee passed or recommended passage of several administration and technical bills with amendments (including SB411, SB1308, SB539, SB617), and deferred some measures (SB1513, SB786, SB1103). This article lists outcomes and key notes for each bill.
Votes at a glance from the Feb. 11 joint committee hearings (selected items):
- SB411 (administration bill concerning unspecified program elements discussed during the hearing): Committee recommended passage with amendments; committee reports will note AG and Budget & Finance concerns and include a defective-date amendment for further conversation. Committee vote: passed (chair and vice chair aye; Senator Moriwaki aye; Senator San Buenaventura aye; Senator Fevella excused).
- SB1308 (relating to plans; DAGS administration bill): Committee recommended passage with technical amendments and a clean effective date; testimony from DAGS stated the bill is housekeeping and reduces costs for public map submissions. The committee also asked agencies to flag the issue of missing survey monuments (post-Lahaina wildfire) in the committee report. Vote: passed with amendments.
- SB539 (relating to toxic chemicals / environmental action levels): Committee recommended passage as introduced; the Department of Health provided comments, and environmental groups urged adoption to set enforceable environmental action levels (EALs) and a public petition process for modifications. Vote: passed as introduced.
- SB617 (requiring public hearings for draft EISs and related measures): Committee recommended passage with an amendment reflecting the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development’s suggested approach to require public hearings in the community directly affected for draft environmental impact statements; the committee did not extend that requirement to draft environmental assessments. Vote: passed with amendments.
- SB1513 and SB786: Both measures (previously heard) were deferred indefinitely in earlier decision-making remarks recorded at the beginning of the session.
Context and committee notes: Several administrative witnesses — including DAGS, DLNR and the Department of Health — provided technical comments. The committee repeatedly noted the monument replacement issues for land surveys after the Lahaina wildfire and instructed staff to work on language to flag that issue in committee reports.
Next steps: The committee adopted recommendations on the listed bills; committee reports will include technical amendments, flags for monument replacement concerns, and notes of AG and Budget & Finance comments where recorded. Bills will proceed according to legislative scheduling for floor action, fiscal notes and any further amendments.
