Senate Standing Committee on Hawaiian Affairs

Good afternoon. We're convening the joint committees on Waterland, Culture and the Arts and Hawaiian affairs on our joint 1:15pm agenda here in State Capitol Conference Room 224.

We have on the agenda today SB 3173 relating to cultural education, which establishes a cultural training pilot program within the Department of Land and Natural Resources to be administered by the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation for commercial use permit holders operating in Lahaina harbor and makes other conforming changes. Testifying first this afternoon on SB3173 is DLNR.

Up next on Zoom is Lahaina Strong. Good afternoon.

Do I go first or DLNR?

Go ahead, please.

Okay, Mahalo. My name is Jordan Rudis. And mahalo for the opportunity to testify today. We are in strong support of SB3173. This measure is a great step in the right direction and addresses the cries of many Lahaina community Members like myself.

There's been a lot of of contentions, controversy and not seeing eye to eye on the reopening of Lahaina harbor and commercial activities coming back into Lahaina Town.

In General, we have been asking for safeguards to be put in place to ensure that folks seeking to return for commercial reasons do so with a different mindset other than business as usual. This bill does just that. We all have responsibility to rebuild and return with intention.

As commercial operations return, we must ensure they do so with deep understanding and respect for the place and the people of Lahaina. SB3173 is seen as a come together bill, a true win win. I was disheartened to read of the opposition testimony. At a time when Lahaina is working hard to heal and rebuild.

It is concerning to see resistance to what is at its core a modest and responsible step toward mutual understanding. This pilot program is an opportunity to come together, participate in bridging gaps, and build stronger relationships between industry and community.

Requiring cultural training should be the very least we ask of those who operate and profit in a place as culturally, culturally significant. Lahaina Harbor. This bill supports both community and commercial operators by fostering deep connections, cultural awareness and stronger relationships.

As Lahaina rebuilds, we have an opportunity to reset and do better, aligning economic activity with cultural preservation and community values. We respectfully urge you guys to pass 3173 and support this pilot program. Mahalo nui.

Thank you. Up next on Zoom is Trilogy Excursions. Good afternoon.

Afternoon. Chairs, vice chair, Members of the Committee, Denver Coon here on behalf of Trilogy Excursions. Are businesses operate in Lahaina harbor for 54 years. We actually just got our newest vessel to replace the one that we lost in the fire and should be operating next month. I think this bill, you know, has very good intentions.

You know, we used to do walking tours with our employees to learn about the history of Lahaima prior to the fire. My biggest concern is the kind of the practicality of the Bill and implementing it. Right now, it's written kind of as a mandatory way. I'd like to see it be more collaborative, voluntary.

You know, do it in a way where it's not going to jeopardize the permits of those who want to get back to Lahaina to operate. You know, there's some practicality also when it comes to, you know, fishermen who run tours there. Their tours are, you know, very different than ours.

You know, when surf schools come back or even when. When restaurants and other businesses come back to Lahaina, you know how that all works. And, you know, if it's voluntary, it's great. If it's mandatory, it feels, you know, it can end up feeling more discriminatory.

So I would like to see, you know, there are programs again before the fire that we're offering these education tours. I would love to see those, something like that, be more available and be more, you know, widely offered.

So again, I think, as currently written, we oppose, though if it was again, more collaborative, more voluntary, then we might support it. So. Thank you.

Thank you. Up next, also on Zoom is Activities and Attractions Association of Hawaii.

Aloha Vice Chairs, thank you for this opportunity to testify. I stand on our position and we strongly oppose this. At first blush, supported it because the idea of we are the activities and attractions throughout the state of Hawaii. We, I myself and have a certification from OLA Hawaii.

We're constantly encouraging our membership to take the Naha classes and be culturally sensitive and integrate culture within whatever the activity or attraction that they provide. A lot of our Members are throughout. It's throughout the state, but the specific group here, which is Lahaina harbor harbor and the commercial boaters there, they've gone through a huge tragedy.

And as Lahaina Strong was sharing. I love the flavor of what was said, but there is the need to get back to operation in that harbor and having. It just seems misaligned and premature to have something like this put in front of a harbor that is not fully functional yet. There are.

There's one in particular boat who was trying to come back, wanted to run someplace. I mean, there is this adversarial situation right now with getting boats going again. And it's sad because the community does need to come together. Absolutely. But having this legislated and mandated as Denver shared it should be voluntary.

And most of them already do this. Their hearts are in that place. They do what they do because they love this place and want to protect it and share it with visitors. And yes, they make money, but that's not a bad thing. It's the love of it that's bad. So thank you very much for your time. Aloha.

Thank you. Looks like that's everyone who had signed up to testify. We have a number, I don't know, a few dozen other individuals who had submitted testimony and support. Is there anyone else who would like to testify in this measure? Seeing none. Are there any questions? Just one quick question for, I guess, Mr. Kuhn. They're still available.

Yes. Thanks. You suggested making a voluntary program, And I think Ms. Davis had said a lot of folks are already doing this. If there's a particular format for this that moves forward. Do you expect. And it's voluntary, do you expect everyone would do it all the harbor, I mean.

I would hope so. You know, a lot of the companies like ours, we do a lot of these cultural education courses. Right. So something that's available, our crew are very interested in that. We would certainly be on board with that, making sure that crew, really, any employee has the opportunity to do that course.

We would make it available to them and absolutely advertise it.

Wouldn't that? So for those who wouldn't do it, what would you suggest?

I think that's more. Maybe more of just a marketing thing, you know, trying to get them on board on why they should do it. Right. I think a lot of it, if it's in tourism marketing, tourists want to learn about the area. If you're running those tours, that's what your customers want to hear.

They want to learn about that history, that rich history of the Hawaiian culture and Hawaiian history in Lahaina. So I don't think. I don't think it's a hard sell to have the operators get their employees to do that.

Is that something there's somebody, some responsible entity at the harbor would coordinate?

Yeah, I guess it depends on how it's set up. If it's set up through. I think this one's like Dobo and Oha. I mean, those are channels that can certainly make that happen again. There are some nonprofit organizations in Lahaina that might be able to help with a program like this. As well.

So there might be some type of kind of little joint venture there.

Thanks. And then lastly, for the folks who are already doing it, which sounds like, according to just about everybody, whether it's voluntary or mandatory, then why would that make a difference?

Well, I think the biggest thing when it came to mandatory was the way that the bill is currently written. It's just very broad. It says for the permit holder, but I don't know if that means the company. Is it one person? Is it every employee?

So if you say, if you hire a new employee, does that person need to have this class done before they can start working? If so, how often is the course offered? Right.

It will become a hiring challenge if you know you want to hire on somebody new, especially if you're getting started, you haven't gotten your business started in Lahaina, as many operators will need to do. And then their employees will now have to take a course before they can be hired on.

So there's just those kind of things that need to be really thought out, else they could cause a major hindrance in a lot of these operators who, again, aren't even in business and have been out of business for almost three years now.

Thanks, Dan. I'll just close by. What strikes me, if everybody's about to start up, it's kind of a perfect time to make sure everyone's on the same page.

But if there's a window, as this is fleshed out, for example, like within, you know, whatever six months or a year or something, you've got to have requisite folks go through a program or go through whatever the training is. In most cases, it's, I think, usually a few hours of instruction. In other similar cases.

Is that something that seems reasonable to you?

Yeah, again, it depends how often it's. It's available, if it's readily available. I don't think that's an issue. The bigger thing is right now, Lahaina harbor only has a few operators because there is no slips inside the harbor. So it's.

There's only four companies that are really starting operations right now as the harbor is rebuilt, which will take, you know, three to five years to get those slips. It's going to be very staggered how operators come back. So we're looking at different operators coming back over, you know, again, the course of the next 56 years.

Okay, thank you very much. Any further questions? All right. Seeing none. Thank you. All right. That was the only measure on the agenda. Recess or go straight in. Okay, we're gonna go straight into decision making on SB3173.

Chairs having conferred, appreciate the comments from everybody all around on this, we'd like to move this forward to the Ways and Means Committee. I think the intent here is to help work on some of these detailed issues as this moves forward.

However, I'll just note for the public, we have a deadline today, so we've got to file paperwork on this. So we're not going to be amending the Bill at this time. The recommendation will be to move it as is.

However, we'll note in the for the next committees that will work with the Department, with OHA and other stakeholders on fleshing out some of these timing and other issues that were raised in the conversation, but want to keep this Bill moving for the larger community. So with that, any questions or comments?

Seeing none Vice Chair for the vote

for the Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts Chair's recommendation on SB B3173 to pass unamended Chair Lee I Vice Chair goes aye. Senator Chang is excused. Senator Lamosa I and Senator De Court I measure is adopted. Mr. Chair with one excuse.

Thank you.

Okay.

For the Committee on Hawaiian Fairs, same recommendation is to pass unamended. [Roll Call] My recommendation is adopted. Thank you. Members.

Thank you everyone.