STAND. COM. REP. NO.246

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 552

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 552 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LANDOWNERS' LIABILITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to encourage landowners to allow land and water access to personnel and volunteers of invasive species control or eradication programs by limiting the landowner's liability toward persons entering their property for these resource management purposes.

The Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Department of Agriculture, Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, Na Leo Pohai, The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, and the Sierra Club submitted testimony supporting this measure. The Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii submitted testimony opposing this measure.

Your Committee finds that this measure reduces liability for owners of private land and endorses efforts to facilitate the control and eradication of invasive plant and animal species in watershed areas. Landowners who are unwilling to allow Coqui frog or Miconia removal on their property create higher costs to the State of continuing control efforts and may prevent any chance of eradication.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive changes to reflect existing statutory language.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 552, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 552, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.

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

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair