STAND. COM. REP. NO.1419

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: S.R. No. 56

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.R. No. 56 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING A STUDY ON ESTABLISHING AN ENVIRONMENTAL COURT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to convene and head an ad hoc committee to study the viability of establishing an environmental court in the State.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Judiciary and the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committee finds that since 1978, twenty-five municipalities throughout the United States have established environmental courts. These courts are primarily reserved for violations of local health, safety, housing, building, fire, solid waste, and litter ordinances. In most cases, they are not courts established by either constitution or statute, but rather by order of a higher court, such as the Supreme Court of a jurisdiction.

Your Committee has heard that the Judiciary would support studying successful environmental court models from other jurisdictions to determine whether an environmental court would be viable in Hawaii, but expressed concern that requiring design of an environmental court system would be premature at this time.

Your Committee is in agreement with this concern and has amended this measure to delete the requirement that the committee submit a design for an environmental court system.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 56, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Judiciary, in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 56, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, Energy and Environment,

____________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair