Committee directs working group to reassess water commission governance after members flag potential conflicts

The committee opened a broad discussion of governance for the Commission on Water Resource Management tied to SB2002 SD2. Chair Mark Hasch described the far‑reaching implications of water governance and proposed a working group to evaluate leadership structure, statutory amendments needed to improve accountability, and whether the BLNR chair should serve as chair of the water commission.

The proposed working group will include agency designees (BLNR, commission on water resource management, attorney general, director of health), one representative each from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, county water‑supply representatives from Oahu and neighbor islands, one large landowner/agricultural water user, one development/housing sector representative and a staff‑level operations representative from CWRM. Advisory participants may include environmental organizations, county planning, engineering and cultural practitioners.

Members raised concerns that the voting membership as drafted gave economic interests an explicit vote while placing environmental organizations in an advisory role. The chair agreed to include one environmental or community environmental organization in the voting membership in response. There was also discussion about whether to place labor representation among voting members; the committee limited that role to an advisory capacity tied to transition planning. The working group will provide an interim update to the legislature prior to the 2027 session and a final report in 2028; the body will sunset at the start of 2028.

What happens next: The committee adopted the working group structure with the adjustment to include an environmental/community organization in the voting membership and advanced SB2002 with the amendments; the committee will expect interim and final deliverables according to the schedule.