REPORT TITLE:
Historic Preservation


DESCRIPTION:
Defines the term heiau.  Establishes a burial site program within
DLNR to assist island burial councils with their mandated
responsibilities.  Clarifies and strengthens various laws
relating to the preservation of native Hawaiian burial sites and
artifacts.  (SB568 SD2 HD2)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        568
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 6E-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted
 
 3 and to read as follows:
 
 4      "Heiau" means any pre-Christian Hawaiian place of worship
 
 5 that is included in the statewide inventory of historic places,
 
 6 or eligible for inclusion through a county, state, or federal
 
 7 historic review process."
 
 8      SECTION 2.  Section 6E-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 9 amended to read as follows:
 
10      "�6E-11  Penalties.(a)  It shall be unlawful for any
 
11 person, natural or corporate, to take, appropriate, excavate,
 
12 injure, destroy, or alter any historic property or aviation
 
13 artifact located upon the private lands of any owner thereof
 
14 without the owner's written permission being first obtained.  It
 
15 shall be unlawful for any person, natural or corporate, to take,
 
16 appropriate, excavate, injure, destroy, or alter any historic
 
17 property or aviation artifact located upon lands owned or
 
18 controlled by the State or any of its political subdivisions,
 
19 except as permitted by the department.
 
20      (b)  It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or
 

 
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 1 corporate, to knowingly take, appropriate, excavate, injure,
 
 2 destroy, or alter any burial site or the contents thereof,
 
 3 located on private lands or lands owned or controlled by the
 
 4 State or any of its political subdivisions, except as permitted
 
 5 by the department.  Violators of this subsection are also subject
 
 6 to prosecution pursuant to section 711-1107, the penalties for
 
 7 which shall be imposed in addition to, and not in lieu of, any
 
 8 penalties imposed under this section.
 
 9      (c)  It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or
 
10 corporate, to knowingly take, appropriate, excavate, injure,
 
11 destroy, or alter any heiau or the contents thereof, located on
 
12 private lands or lands owned or controlled by the State or any of
 
13 its political subdivisions, except as permitted by the
 
14 department.  Violators of this subsection shall be subject to
 
15 prosecution pursuant to section 711-1107, the penalties of which
 
16 shall be imposed in addition to, and not in lieu of, any
 
17 penalties imposed under this section.
 
18      [(c)] (d)  Any person who violates this section shall be
 
19 fined not more than [$10,000] $25,000 for each separate offense.
 
20 If the violator directly or indirectly has caused the loss of, or
 
21 damage to, historic property, heiau, or burial site, the violator
 
22 shall be fined an additional amount determined by the court to be
 
23 equivalent to the value of the lost or damaged historic property,
 

 
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 1 heiau, or burial site.  Each day of continued violation of this
 
 2 provision shall constitute a distinct and separate offense for
 
 3 which the offender may be punished.  Equipment used by a violator
 
 4 for the taking, appropriation, excavation, injury, destruction,
 
 5 or alteration of historic property, heiau, or a burial site, or
 
 6 for the transportation of the violator to or from the historic
 
 7 property or a burial site, shall be subject to seizure and
 
 8 disposition by the State without compensation to its owner or
 
 9 owners.  
 
10      [(d)] (e)  Any person, natural or corporate, who knowingly
 
11 violates this section with respect to burial sites or heiau shall
 
12 also be prohibited from participating in the construction of any
 
13 state or county funded project for ten years."
 
14      SECTION 3.  Section 6E-43.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
15 amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
 
16      "(c)  The department, in consultation with the councils,
 
17 office of Hawaiian affairs, representatives of development and
 
18 large property owner interests, and appropriate Hawaiian
 
19 organizations, such as Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai`i Nei,
 
20 shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary to carry out
 
21 the purposes of this section.  The council members shall serve
 
22 without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary
 
23 expenses incurred during the performance of their duties.  The
 

 
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 1 councils shall be a part of the department for administrative
 
 2 purposes.  The department shall establish, maintain, and support
 
 3 a burial sites program to provide administrative support to the
 
 4 councils, and to implement applicable duties and responsibilities
 
 5 relating to burial sites and human skeletal remains as stated
 
 6 throughout this chapter."
 
 7      SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 8 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 9      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.