STAND. COM. REP. NO. 752-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2894

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 2894 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ACCESS TO REAL PROPERTY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to require a seller to disclose, in writing, to a prospective buyer of residential or agricultural real property, the existence of any legal access and known traditional public access that may burden the real property being sold. Enumerated types of transfers of agricultural real property are exempt from the required disclosure.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation. The Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii testified in opposition to this measure.

Your Committee finds that full disclosure of legal or known traditional public access may help avoid litigation over access rights.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Clarifying that the seller's written disclosure instrument is the disclosure statement;

 

(2) Clarifying that any disclosure required under this measure for agricultural real property is to be made in accordance with section 508D-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2894, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2894, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

 

____________________________

ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair