STAND. COM. REP. NO. 729

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 1893

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1893 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INVASIVE SPECIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow public and private landowners to remove noxious trees within a conservation district by applying for a site plan approval permit with the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by a member of the Maui County Council, the University of Hawaii Environmental Center, the Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, and one individual. The Department of Land and Natural Resources testified in opposition to the measure.

This measure permits public and private landowners to remove noxious trees from lands located within a conservation district by applying for a site plan approval permit with the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The landowners will be exempt from the need to apply for an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement unless the department determines that removal will have a significant effect on the environment. Your Committee finds that this measure provides a streamlined process for landowners to remove noxious trees designated as such by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1893 and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

____________________________

COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair