Senate Standing Committee on Hawaiian Affairs

Good Afternoon, we're convening the joint committees on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts and Housing on our 01:01pm agenda here in State Capitol Conference Room 224 on HCR 85, urging the Department of Land and Natural Resources transfer parcels that make up the East Kapolei TOD area and doing a bunch of other things.

We're asking folks to keep your testimony limited so we have time to get through all testifiers as we have a number of agendas following this one But other than that, testifying first on HCR 85 is the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Thank you. Up next is OPSD. Thank you.

HHFDC. Thank you. HCDA. That is everyone who had signed up to testify on HCR 85. Is there anyone else wishing to testify?

Hearing none. Are there any questions? Hearing none. Okay.

Yeah. We had robust discussion the last time. Yes.

Okay. Chairs having conferred, why don't we go into decision making on H. 35. So I'd like to recommend moving this measure forward as is. We'll just note in the committee report.

I think in the testimony from the various departments, the comments regarding the intent to maintain any revenues off of these lands to remain with Department of Land Natural Resources and the collaboration between the departments as these parcels become ready for action. That at that point, substantive transfer and other things can take place. Just making sure everyone's on the same page. So with that, please Yeah.

This matter. Yep.

Okay.

Okay. With the Sorry. She's here. Yeah. So acting vice chair, if you'd like to take the vote, please.

Recommendation is to pass as soon as

Looking for HCR 85 h d one recommendation is to pass as is. Yes.

Yep. As is.

Vice chair Inouye is excused. Chair Chang is also excused. Senator Lamsal is an aye. Senator Chorus. I chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you.

Alright. For the committee on housing, same recommendation. I think we had, when the we had the Senate current resolution, we had a robust discussion. So it doesn't mean that we I think it's really important, but, we had had all that before, so we know what's going on. So Senator Fante, go ahead.

K. Acting chair's recommendation is to pass h HCR 85 unamended. Chair Chang is excused. I think acting chair Hashimoto. Aye.

Senator Alafonte, I vote aye. Senator Rhoads. Aye. Senator Fevella is excused. Mister chair, recommendation is adopted.

Thank you. And with that, we are adjourned.

K. We are now starting our committee on Hawaiian affairs and water and land culture and the arts. We have two measures on this agenda. Hawaiian will be the lead on the first and then water and land will be on the second item. I just wanna remind testifiers that you do have a one minute time limit on your testimony as you start.

So please be mindful of your time. So starting off, I believe we have we have OHA.

Aloha mai Kakou. Imiloa Borland with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. I call on my for a late testimony, but I see you guys have received it. We just wanted to reiterate that, Governor Waihe'e does meet the qualifications for receiving the Aloha Order of Merit, and that this is an honor that should be bestowed upon him based off of the brevity of his work and his dedication to our Lahui. So available for questions.

Thank you. Next up, we have Leimomi Khan on Zoom.

Aloha, Chairs and members of the committee. I stand on my written testimony in strong support of the nomination of Governor Waihe'e for the Aloha Order of Merit. However, I would like to share with you a few comments. My deep and abiding Aloha for this leader who throughout his life has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the people of Hawaii. His leadership merits this honor not only because of what he accomplished, but because of how he led.

He embodies the Aloha spirit not as a concept, but as a way of being grounded in respect, humility, service, and care for others. He brings together people, listens deeply, approaches challenges with balance and common sense. His impact is lasting from his work at the nineteen seventy eight constitutional convention to his leadership as governor and his continued service today. In essence, governor Waihe'e does not simply meet the standard of the Aloha Order of Merit. He embodies it.

And for me personally and for others, he is what inspires us to rise each day with purpose, to meet challenges with Aloha, and to contribute in whatever way we can to keep Hawaii the special place that it is for all of us. Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you. I am, anyone in the room wanting to testify as well? Alright. Hearing and seeing none, I'm gonna turn it over to Chair Lee to go over the other item.

Thank you very much. Up next is HCR 166, requesting the Department of Land and Natural Resources to identify state lands in East Oahu suitable for the planting of native Hawaiian trees. We have written testimony on this measure, but no one signed up to testify in person. Is there anyone wishing to testify in HCR 166? And I think you just wanna confirm there's nobody online?

There is no one online, chair.

Okay. It seems we have nobody to ask questions of. That is the end of our that's okay.

That is the

end of our agenda. We're gonna take a quick recess to collect a quorum, and then we'll come back for decision making. Recess.

Okay. We're back, on the community of Hawaiian Affairs and Water and Lime Culture and the Arts, hearing on two measures. The recommendation for the first one, HCR 101, h d one is to pass as is. Any questions or discussions from wine affairs committee? Alright.

Hearing none, acting vice chair, Keokole, my vote.

Members voting on HCR 101 house draft one. The recommendation is to pass unamended. Chair Richards is excused. Vice Chair Lamasau?

Aye.

Senator Ihara is excused. Keawakalole goes aye. Senator DeCort? Aye. Recommendation adopted.

Thank you. For the committee on water land, same recommendation.

Okay. For the same measure, has unamended chair's recommendation is passed unamended. Chair Yee?

Aye.

Vice chair Inouye is excused. Senator Chang is also excused. Senator Lamasal is an aye. Turn to court. Aye.

Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you. Moving on to HCR 166, requesting DLNR to identify state lands in East Oahu for the planting of native trees. Recommendation is to pass as is. There's no discussion. Vice chair.

K. For HDR 166 HD 1 recommendation of the chair is to pass unamended. Anyone present wanting to vote with reservations or no? Hearing none, chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you.

For the, Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, same recommendation, vice chair acting vice chair, Kyoko Gure.

Members voting on HCR 166 house draft one. Any no's or reservations? Senators Richards and Ihara, excuse recommendation adopted.

Thank you. We're adjourned.

Good afternoon. We're convening the committee on Water, Land, Culture, and the Arts here in State Capitol Conference Room 224 on our 01:15pm agenda. We have a number of resolutions up on the agenda. Thank you for your patience as we went through our joint committee hearing agendas earlier. We asked folks to keep your testimony concise.

We'll limit folks to one minute to make sure that we have a chance to hear from all testifiers in case we run out of time. But up first is HCR 36 establishing a sister state relationship between the state of Hawaii and the prefecture of Okayama, Japan. And testifying first is the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Good afternoon.

Hello, Senator Lee, Senator Lamasau. Dennis Ling with DBEDT. DBEDT strongly supports this, resolution to establish a sister state with Okayama. The governor of Okayama, as well as the chair of their assembly, has also indicated very strong interest in establishing this relationship. As you know, sister state relationships set the basis for relationships amongst other organizations and agencies.

For instance, educational exchanges with Kaimuki High School is one that really is promising. The governor of Okayama visited Kaimuki High School last year, and there will be sister state sister school exchanges. Also in the area of agriculture is another area that has strong potential. Okayaba is a strong agricultural prefecture. So there could be the airport is another one also I need to mention, but thank you very much for this opportunity.

Thank you. That's everyone who had signed up to testify on HCR 36. Is there anyone else wishing to testify this afternoon?

Hearing none, are there any questions? Senator Lawson.

Sorry, Dennis. I just wanted to ask, what is the, I guess, like, their number one agriculture commodity that they have?

It's rice. Yeah. And I know with Hawaii, especially on Kauai, they're trying to establish

Okay, let's move on to HCR 19 designating the month of March as March in Hawaii. Testifying first is the Board Water Supply. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Chair.

Nice to see you again. Yes.

Cathy Mitchell with the Board of Water Supply, and we submit our written testimony in support of HCR 19. We're happy to be supporting the March for Water Month, as it serves as a platform for communities to raise awareness for water conservation. Thank you. Thank you.

That's everyone who had signed up to testify. Is there anyone else wishing to testify in HCR 19? Hearing none, any questions? Hearing none, thank you. Let's move on to HCR 162, Requesting the establishment of an arts data mapping task force to conduct a statewide survey of entities engaged in arts and arts education, and develop a comprehensive statewide database, and geographic interest information system map of arts entities and programs.

Testifying first

is OPSD.

Also, DBED. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Chairman Lee, Senator Lomasau. David Harper with DBEDT, and we are here to testify in support of the of the HR HCR. And if you have any questions, we're here for answers. Thank you. Thank you.

And finally, on Zoom, Kealohi O'Eva?

Not present on Zoom, chair.

Thank you. That's everyone who had signed up to testify on HCR 162. Is there anyone else wishing to testify this afternoon? Oh, please come forward.

Aloha, chair. I'm Randy Wong. I'm president and CEO of Hawaii Youth Symphony. We're very much in support of this resolution. We think that there's been a lot of really strong testimony from lots of arts organizations, and so we're happy to take part in this project to help bring this data together and create a great system for arts data mapping for everyone to benefit from.

Thank you. Anyone else on HCR 162? Hearing none. All right. Any questions? Hearing none.

Thank you. Let's move on to the next measure on the agenda. HCR 61, urging the Department of Land and Natural Resources to work with its partners to increase investment in policies, incentives, workforce, and nursery capacity to reforest ways public and private lands. Testifying first on HCR 61 is DLNR.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Chair Lee. Vice chair, members of the committee, my name is Jennifer Grimm. I'm the Forestry Manager for the Division of Forestry and Wildlife. And we are gonna stand on our Rich Griffin testimony today, strongly supporting this measure, but I do wanna highlight that, reforestation is, important for resilience, for climate, for, workforce development, for developing forest industries across the state, and, the importance of investing in our state nursery system, in terms of capacity as well as modernization and how important that is in reforestation, efforts.

And I'll leave it at that.

Thank you.

Thank you. Testifying next is the Reforestation Investment Hui of Hawaii.

Aloha, chair. Senator Lamasau. My name is Maka, and we stand in on a written testimony in support of this measure, but I wanted to share my. When I was in sixth grade, we did a to Hawaii Island, and one day we went up to plant koa seedlings. While we were leaving the site, my best friend accidentally slammed my finger in the SUV car door.

And fast forward to today, my best friend is now an entomologist with the Forest Service. She's one of the state's leading scientists on rapid ohia death and a fierce protector of our native forest. Her research on rod underscores the importance of reforestation, especially in the Val Kanaka, where Ohia grows along with Kolin'iliahi. The federal administration's recent announcement to dismantle the forest service reinforces how important and timely this reso is. We've recently seen how important our native trees and understory are in mitigating floods and landslides.

If we make substantial investments in reforestation now, it will pay off for generations to come so that our Keiki's Keiki can plant koa seedlings and benefit from healthy, thriving native forests. We'll hello for your support and opportunity.

Thank you. Up next is, Hannah Lysiak.

Sorry. Did I pronounce that right? Probably not.

It's Lesiak. It's okay. It's not pronounced how it's spelled, but that's okay. Aloha, chair Lee and Senator LaMozau. My name is Hannah Lesiak, and I'm testifying as an individual in strong support of HCR 61.

I'm a member of the Care for I Now Coalition and the Ocean Legislative Task Force, and one of the things that I've learned through my work with those groups is that the health of our forests affects every single aspect of our environment and, ultimately, the health and the well-being of our communities as well. And in the face of environmental pressures, you know, we must take proactive action to make sure that our natural systems can sustain themselves and better withstand future impacts.

I can't stress enough how important it is to invest in reforestation. So I wanna thank you for hearing this measure, and I also wanna echo, you know, the other testifiers. Thank you.

Thank you. And I apologize I missed, previous testifier. Civic Nexus.

It's probably me. My name is Pierce Young

Hi. Aloha, Chair. And hello, the rest of the committee. Yeah. Just wanna stand on my written testimony in support of this measure and just, testifying in my personal capacity actually here today, which is just to say that, I've done a

lot of traveling, and I think the states that I've traveled a lot to, I was born and raised here, but the states that I've traveled a lot to and enjoyed the most were the ones that had a lot of green space In my building, the waterfront views are 20% more expensive than the mountain views.

And I think that's a shame, and I think that reforestation efforts and helping protect a lot of the Mauka side of our island will do a lot in order to remember that it's the entire island, not just one small perimeter of it that'll help make our island great. So thank you.

Thank you. Up next on Zoom, Lauren Buck.

Aloha. My name is Lauren Buck, and I'm a student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and I'm majoring in environmental management. I'm testifying in support of HCR 61. I just want to emphasize that healthy forests are a foundation to sustaining Hawaii's environment, and I fully believe that we need to prioritize collaboration to restore and preserve these ecosystems. Thank you.

Thank you. And Seiichi Nagai.

Yeah. Aloha, chair and members of the committee. I stand on the right to testify.

Thank you. That's everyone who had signed up to testify on HCR 61. Is there anyone else wishing to testify? Please come forward.

Aloha, chair Lee and Senator Lamasau. My name is Stephanie Dunbar-Co, and I am standing on my written testimony. I am the owner of Hulili Consulting. I'm also a founding member and co coordinator of the Hawaii Reforestation Investment buoy. And on a personal note, I'm also a resident of the island of Molokai and having recently dealt with the fallout of the storm damage with which many of our communities have had.

I would love to think that in a generation or maybe two that my don't have to drive from Konakakai to the East End Of Molokai and see dirt that that's three stories high on the side of Camp 5 Highway.

And trees are part of that.

They're part of that for all of the reasons that the other testifiers talked about, economics, environmental, climate, cultural, and I appreciate the opportunity to testify and support.

Thank you. Is there anyone else on HCR 61? Hearing none, any questions? Hearing none, sounds like everybody loves trees. Alright let's move on to the next measure HCR 106 endorsing Hawaii as excuse me, endorsing Waikiki as a world surfing reserve.

Excuse me for the wipeout. Testifying first is the University of Hawaii.

Great. Aloha, Senator Lee, Senator Lamosau. Sorry about that. My name is Dolan Eversole. I'm with the University of Hawaii.

We will stand on our written testimony and support, but I wanted to offer that I'll be here if you have any questions about the need for recognizing this as a world surfing reserve.

Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. That's everyone who had signed up to testify on HCR 106. Is there anyone else wishing to testify?

Hearing none. Any questions? Hearing none, probably all familiar with surfing. Thanks very much. All right.

Let's move on to HCR 14. Authorizing the issuance of a perpetual non exclusive easement covering a portion of state submerged lands at wildlife, Oahu for existing drainage purposes and for the use operation repair and maintenance of the existing improvements constructed Iran. Testifying first is DLNR. Thank you. That's everyone on the time to testify on HCR 14.

Is there anyone else wishing to testify? That being said, are there any questions? Senator Lamosao?

Yes. So the the board already approved this project then? Yeah. Oh, okay.

Correct. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So we just need to pass this reso to basically execute it then.

Correct.

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Let's move on to HCR 178, urging the Department of Land and Natural Resources to prioritize using a set aside to the County Of Maui through an executive order by the governor to support the management of public trust water resources in East Maui. Testifying first is DLNR.

Again, for DLNR, and I will stand on our reading comments for answering questions.

Thank you. Up next on Zoom is the Department of the East Maui Water Authority.

Not present on Zoom, chair. She, chair she is present on Zoom.

Thanks.

Oh, there you are. Now please proceed.

Oh, yeah. We can we can see you.

Okay. Great. Are you ready? I'm Gina Young. Thank you. Thank you, Chair Lee. I'm Gina Young, director of the East Maui Water Authority. I did submit testimony, so I'm gonna stand on my testimony, and I'm here to answer any questions.

Thank you. Up next on Zoom is Shay Chan Hodges.

Aloha. Aloha, chair, vice chair, and members of the committee. My name is Shay Chan Hodges. I am a former chair of the Maui County Board Of Water Supply and coauthor of the 2019 TIG report on the EMI system. I testify in strong support of HCR 178, and I am testifying on my own

behalf. This resolution is fundamentally about whether control of Maui's public water resources should remain in public hands or whether it can be implemented by a profit seeking foreign investment fund. PSP is a $214,000,000,000 Crown Corporation, a Canadian Crown Corporation, with a documented pattern of extractive investment practices. Its global record raises serious concerns about long term stewardship. In Australia, PSP acquired major water assets during drought conditions and became a dominant player in high water use agriculture.

In The US, its subsidiary HavenBrook Homes faced legal penalties for neglect that endangered residents of their apartment buildings. These examples reflect a broader pattern prioritizing returns over community and resource protection. Protection. The public trust doctrine requires that water be managed for the benefit of the people of Hawaii. That response

If you could summarize, please?

Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. I just wanna say county set aside ensures local control transparency and stewardship aligned with Hawaii's values. Thank you so much.

Thank you. That's everyone who signed up to testify in HCR 178. Is there anyone else wishing to testify? Alright. Hearing none, are there questions?

For DLNR? Sure. Thanks. Your testimony, you guys come in with comments on this, but you basically note that you do have the authority I presume just through Sea Worm on admin rules to be able to address the issues that initiated this resolution?

Yeah. I think it's actually both Sea Worm and the board that have administrative sort of capabilities to address the situation that was brought up by this resolution.

Thanks. For the East Maui Water Authority, which in their testimony supported this measure, It sounds like local control is sort of the key issue here. Sure. Have you guys been in contact with with them over this?

So I apologize. I haven't been personally, but I think conversations have been ongoing between my boss and Fulton Maui County.

Okay.

Okay. Thanks. Okay. Alright. Thank you.

Yeah.

Let's move on to the next measure. HCR 179, urging the Ahamoku Advisory Committee to follow its adopted rules of practice, fulfill statutory duties, comply with Sunshine Law, and conduct a performance review, and, and, provide further oversight. Testifying first on HCR 179 is the, Waystate Ahamoku. Can you be on Zoom? Good afternoon.

Oh,

Can you hear me?

you're

Oh, yes. We can hear you now.

Hello. Hi Chair members of the committee. Here is Rocky Kalihuwa speaking on behalf of the Apple City of Apple School.

I stand by my testimony, and I'm open for questions.

Thank you. That's everyone who had signed up to testify on HCR 179. Is there anyone else wishing to testify this afternoon? Hearing none. Other question?

Oh, I'm sorry.

I had signed up to testify as well. It was a late request.

Okay. Please proceed.

Aloha. My name is Elena Bryant. I'm a millennial descendant of Koolaupoko, and over the years have had the honor and privilege to use my cultural and legal background to assess certain advisory committee members on various issues before. I serves a critical function in the management of Hawaii's natural resources. It was established to provide community input and support for natural resource management issues, ensuring that traditional practices and knowledge of native Hawaiians are considered in resource management decisions.

I'm testifying in partial support of this resolution because while I am supportive of the legislative intent to find ways to improve transparency and administrative support for, I strongly urge your committee to consider and implement amendments to this resolution that recognize the importance and independent nature of Specifically, I urge your committee to amend the resolution to recognize the important function Ahamoku serves, to recognize that Ahamoku does have semiautonomous status, and recognize and make clear that dealing our oversight over Ahamoku is for administrative support only.

Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on this measure? Alright. Hearing none, any questions?

Alright.

We didn't have DLNR on this one, right? Careful what you ask. Sorry?

I already know what he is going to say

Okay. Yeah. Why don't why don't we try and get quorum here? So we'll take a quick recess.

Recess. We're convening the joint it's not the joint committees we're recommitting the committee on waterline culture in the arts on our 01:15 p. M. Agenda here in state capital conference from two to four The measures that we just heard on this agenda, we're going to move decision making to the end of our three p. M.

Agenda today. Here in this room, Conference Room 224. So until then, we will see you soon.