STAND. COM. REP. NO. 188

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 557
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Water, Land, and Hawaiian Affairs, to
which was referred S.B. No. 557 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL
     RESOURCES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to allow a simple majority of
Board of Land and Natural Resources (Board) members present at a
board meeting to take action on Conservation District Use
Applications (CDUA).

     Testimony in support of the measure was received from the
Department of Land and Natural Resources.  Testimony in
opposition to the measure was received from Hawaiian Electric
Company, Inc., the Land Use Research Foundation, and Hawaii's
Thousand Friends.

     Your Committee finds that under existing law, if no decision
is made by the Board on a CDUA within the specified one hundred
eighty day processing period, the CDUA would be automatically
approved, causing ambiguity as to whether the Board actually
approves of the CDUA.  Additionally, under existing law, a valid
action of the Board requires a four member majority vote.  In
some cases, a majority of Board members have actually voted to
deny a CDUA but have fallen short of a four member majority (e.g.
3-2, or 3-1), thereby allowing an applicant to proceed with their
project without obtaining the approval of a majority of the
Board.

 
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     Your Committee believes that the measure will provide the
Board of Land and Natural Resources with more flexibility in
deciding CDUAs by allowing actions to be taken by a simple
majority of board members present.  Your Committee also believes
that the measure will ensure that CDUAs will not be decided by
default, thus resulting in clearer land use decisionmaking
policy.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Water, Land, and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached
to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of S.B. No. 557 and recommends that it pass Second
Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair

 
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