STAND. COM. REP. NO. 999

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1644

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1644, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to mitigate the adverse effects of the March 2006, mudslides on the residents of Maunalaha, Oahu.

 

     The measure accomplishes this purpose by:

 

     (1)  Establishing a Maunalaha Infrastructure Development Special Fund and a Maunalaha Housing Revolving Fund to assist Maunalaha residents in rebuilding their homes; and

 

     (2)  Authorizing the Department of Land and Natural Resources to transfer leases at Maunalaha, Oahu, in the event of damage due to adverse acts of nature that occurred between January 1 and April 1, 2006.

 

     This measure also appropriates an unspecified amount for lease transfer costs for fiscal year 2007-2008, appropriates an unspecified amount to the Maunalaha Infrastructure Development Special Fund for fiscal year 2007-2008, and requires a report to the 2008 Legislature regarding any lease transfers made.

 

     Written testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, the Maunalaha Valley Community Association, and two individuals.  Written testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Department of Budget and Finance.  The Tax Foundation of Hawaii submitted written comments.

 

     Your Committee finds that in March 2006, record-breaking heavy rains on Oahu caused recurring mudslides in the Round Top‑Tantalus area.  Within a half an hour, an entire section of the hillside was gone – what was once a slope became a gorge in minutes.  While many of the immediate needs of the Maunalaha residents were met in the days and weeks following the flooding, the landslides created unstable conditions for some of the lessees, making repairs and rebuilding difficult, if not impossible.

 

     Your Committee further finds that the lessees of Maunalaha Valley have resided there for many decades, and the leases executed under Act 225, Session Laws of Hawaii 1981, as amended by Act 40, Session Laws of Hawaii 1982, are intended to meet a moral obligation to provide long-term stability and land tenure for these families.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purpose of clarity.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1644, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1644, S.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair