Bill Text: HI SB42 | 2012 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Ocean Safety; Swimming Buoys; Appropriation

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-12-01 - Carried over to 2012 Regular Session. [SB42 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-SB42-Amended.html

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STAND. COM. REP. NO. 276

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 42

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Water, Land, and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 42 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO OCEAN SAFETY,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Require the Department of Land and Natural Resources to review the safety records of nearshore areas statewide;

 

     (2)  Require the Department to report to the Legislature the results of the review, including any recommendations for increasing public safety in nearshore waters; and

 

     (3)  Appropriate General Fund monies for swimming buoys at Kaanapali Beach.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Ocean Tourism Coalition, Darrell Tanaka, and Tamara Paltin.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

 

     Your Committee finds that increased recreational and commercial activities in Hawaii's nearshore waters have led to safety concerns and, in some cases, tragic results.  In October 2009, a young diver died after being struck by a boat in Maunalua Bay on the Island of Oahu, a bay popular with divers, swimmers, and other ocean recreational users.  Other nearshore areas of the state are also popular attractions for multiple ocean activities - one such area is Kaanapali Beach on the Island of Maui.  Installing safety features such as swimming buoys at Kaanapali Beach to more clearly delineate areas reserved for differing uses would ensure greater safety.  Your Committee also finds that given the popularity of ocean activities in nearshore areas statewide, a comprehensive safety review of all nearshore areas is warranted.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to allow for further discussion; and

 

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 42, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 42, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, and Housing,

 

____________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair