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Committee advances multiple resolutions on parks, marine conservation, parking and audits
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Summary
On April 16 the Committee on Waterland advanced a slate of Senate concurrent resolutions and related items — including measures on Kealakehe Regional Park, marine life carrying-capacity studies, student coral stewardship, state parks task force, urban-tree canopy, and a performance audit of the State Building Code Council — forwarding committee recommendations for each.
The Committee on Waterland hearing on April 16 covered a series of SCRs and related measures. The committee took votes in its decision matrix and recorded recommendations to pass or pass with amendments for the following items; the committee’s recommendations will be transmitted according to legislative procedure.
Votes at a glance
- SCR 55 (Hawaii Water Safety Plan): Committee recommended pass unamended; recommendation adopted. (See separate article.)
- SCR 181 (wildland-urban interface standards for plantation towns): Committee recommended pass; recommendation adopted.
- SCR 20 (Kealakehe Regional Park, Hawaii County): Committee recommended pass; proponents testified about a long planning history and local housing growth near the site.
- SCR 32 (marine life conservation district carrying-capacity study task force): Committee recommended pass; DLNR referenced prior capacity studies (Pupukea, Hanauma Bay) and COVID-era baseline surveys.
- SCR 19 SD1 (student coral stewardship framework): Committee recommended pass with DLNR amendments; DLNR and DOE both support intent but DLNR expressed concern about reporting burdens without funding.
- SCR 58 SD1 (progressive enforcement framework for DLNR parking): Committee recorded action; chair recommended technical amendments and cautioned substantive changes could risk Senate adoption.
- SCR 100 SD1 (working group to establish a nonprofit to support sanctuaries): Committee recommended pass; DLNR offered to provide administrative support for reports.
- SCR 103 SD1 (state parks task force and branding): Committee recommended pass; Division of State Parks emphasized staffing and funding constraints and said the task force would be a visioning effort.
- SCR 129 (urban tree canopy): Committee recommended pass; DLNR forestry staff supported expansion of shade-tree programs.
- SCR 69 SD1 (performance audit of the State Building Code Council): Committee recommended pass; a submitter on Zoom supported the audit.
- SCR 79 (encouraging Navy action on octocoral eradication in Pearl Harbor): Committee recommended pass and moved the item to the committee on public safety for the next step.
Next steps: Each recommendation will follow statutory transmittal; some items included agency-requested or committee-requested amendments and several witnesses noted implementation would require funding, contract changes, or additional staff.
