Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Coral Stewardship topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee backs student coral stewardship program but shifts reporting duties to DLNR
Summary
The House Committee on Education passed HCR 13 HD1 and HR 15 HD1 with amendments, designating the Department of Land and Natural Resources to lead reporting while keeping DOE as a collaborator; DLNR had flagged concerns about reporting burdens and curriculum development.
The House Committee on Education voted to pass HCR 13 HD1 and HR 15 HD1 on April 7, amending the measures to make the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) the lead agency for submitting reports on a proposed student coral stewardship program while keeping the Department of Education (DOE) and the Public Charter School Commission as collaborators.
DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources representative Charlie Taylor told the committee DLNR "support[s] this resolution as written" but warned that earlier drafts that placed report-submission responsibilities on DLNR would be burdensome. Taylor said DLNR already conducts frequent classroom outreach and can "provide all that information" on reef status, key issues and recommendations, but cautioned the agency is not typically set up to create semester-long curricula and does not want to be overburdened with additional reporting requirements.
Winston Sakurai, representing DOE, said the department "stands on our written testimony" and that DOE is "happy to work with DLNR" on implementing a student stewardship program. Members asked for clarification about whether the proposed program would be a curriculum developed by DOE, outreach conducted by DLNR, or student-driven stewardship activities; DLNR clarified it frequently provides presentations but does not typically develop long-term curricula and can collaborate on content and data provision.
After discussion the chair recommended reverting to language that makes DLNR the lead for report submission while retaining DOE as a collaborator; the committee adopted that recommendation. The roll call recorded the chair and vice chair voting "I," and Representatives Amato, Belatti, Garrett, Capella, Keohokalole, Ohno, Morikawa and Souza each recorded "I," after which the chair announced the recommendation was adopted.
The amended measure directs DLNR to take the lead on the status report described in the resolution; staff discussion during the hearing emphasized DLNR’s subject-matter expertise on reef status and reef-safe practices while noting limits on DLNR capacity for sustained curriculum development. No implementation timeline or budget was specified in testimony at the hearing.
The committee moved forward with the amended measure and closed the item; the resolution will proceed according to the Legislature’s next procedural steps.
