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Committee advances, passes and defers a slate of water‑and‑land bills; several measures amended or tabled
Summary
The House Committee on Water & Land on Feb. 6 passed several bills with amendments, deferred multiple measures for redrafting or consolidation, and set technical defect dates; the actions will affect water management, coastal rules, small‑boat harbors and land‑use planning.
The House Committee on Water & Land completed a decision session on Feb. 6 that produced a mix of pass‑with‑amendment actions, unamended passes and deferrals. The committee made technical edits and set defect dates for many measures.
Key committee actions and outcomes (votes taken or announced at the Feb. 6 decision session):
- HB 347 (goats): Deferred. The chair said there was insufficient support and the measure was deferred; no final vote was recorded.
- HB 1278: Passed with amendments (HD1, technical amendments; defect date changed). The committee chair announced the recommendation to pass with amendments; members recorded affirmative votes. Representative Ichiyama was excused during the vote.
- HB 144 (Mauna Kea stewardship Sunshine exemption): Deferred to Feb. 11, 2025 at 10 a.m. for further work (see separate article for full hearing coverage).
- HB 211 (stream maintenance): Passed with amendments. The chair adopted DLNR’s recommended language changes and added a clarifying change that each county or the state may dispose of certain items removed during stream maintenance; the committee advanced the bill with amendments.
- HB 781 (Wai/Water systems): Passed unamended. Committee advanced the bill as introduced; technical language and defect dates were noted.
- HB 510 (declaration of water shortage and emergency): Passed with HD1 and technical amendments; the committee asked DLNR to work with agricultural interests and noted some members voted with reservations.
- HB 778 (integrated land use study): Passed with amendments. Committee adopted language to incorporate Farm Bureau concerns and made technical edits; defect date set to 07/01/3000 in committee report.
- HB 1503 (disaster recovery data): Deferred. Committee decided to use HB 1181 as a vehicle for overlapping language and deferred 1503 so staff can consolidate language.
- HB 512 (ocean recreation management): Deferred after widespread opposition (see separate article for detail).
- HB 86 (DLNR‑related provisions): Passed with HD1 and technical amendments.
- HB 1181 (coastal zone management and related disaster recovery language): Passed with HD1; committee adopted amendments from the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development and will use HB 1181 as the vehicle for related bills.
- HB 649 (small boat harbors): Passed with HD1 after committee agreed to remove a proposed increase in the operator charge percentage and to zero out dollar amounts in the statutory text, with procurement and execution details placed in the committee report. Several members registered no or reservations on this item.
Other procedural notes: the chair announced a pattern of making technical amendments and setting defect dates to July 1, 3000 for multiple bills in the package; committee members frequently asked for follow‑up technical drafting and stakeholder engagement before floor action.
Why it matters: The package affects a broad set of issues — from stream and shoreline management to water shortage rules, small‑boat harbor funding, and land‑use planning — with potential operational impacts for county agencies, agriculture, tourism operators and coastal resource users.
Ending: The committee advanced several bills with amendments, deferred multiple items for redrafting or consolidation, and set deadlines and technical instructions for staff to return with revised language.
