STAND. COM. REP. 1104

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1554

S.D. 1

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1554, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NATIVE HAWAIIAN HISTORIC SITES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to protect native Hawaiian historic sites by clarifying private landowners' responsibilities for native Hawaiian historic sites on their property.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs testified in support of this bill. The Kualoa-He'eia Hawaiian Civic Club supported the intent of this measure. The Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, Hawaii Leeward Planning Conference, and Hawaii Reserves, Inc., opposed this measure. The Department of Land and Natural Resources offered comments.

According to section 6E-42, Hawaii Revised Statutes, when a private landowner seeks a land development permit, such as a grading permit that may affect historic property or burial sites, the Division of Historic Preservation of DLNR must be given an opportunity to review and comment upon the permit application, thereby providing an opportunity to protect the historic property. However, the law does not apply penalties if someone does not seek prior approval and damages an historic property or burial site.

Upon careful consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by deleting its contents and inserting the substance of H.B. No. 1285, H.D. 1, which extends the same protections and penalties for the damage of an historic property or burial site discovered on private lands, when the necessary approvals have not been sought as required by historic preservation laws.

As amended, this bill:

(1) Provides penalties for anyone who damages historic property or a burial site during development activities without obtaining the required approval;

(2) Provides penalties for anyone who inadvertently discovers a burial site and fails to stop work and report the discovery; and

(3) Requires that, if human skeletal remains are discovered during development activities for which the required approval was not obtained, all work shall cease to allow for the proper removal of the remains.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1554, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1554, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs,

 

____________________________

EZRA R. KANOHO, Chair