STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3004

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 1972

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Economic Development and Technology and Water, Land, and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 1972, H.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to clarify that the fees charged by the state historic preservation division program are proportional to the nature and complexity of the projects or services provided, and adjusted from time to time to ensure that the proceeds, together with all other fines, income, and penalties collected under this chapter, do not surpass the annual operating costs of the comprehensive historic preservation program.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and Historic Hawaii Foundation.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Legislative Committee of the Society for Hawaiian Archaeology.

 

     Your Committees find that the Department of Land and Natural Resources' state historic preservation division program charges various fees when carrying out its regulatory reviews pursuant to sections 6E-7, 6E-8, 6E-42, and 6E-43.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  The fees imposed for reviewing documents subject to these sections of the statute are set by Hawaii Administrative Rules 13-275 and 13-284, which were subject to public hearings.  Your Committees have been informed that these public hearings resulted in many comments that significantly improved prior drafts of these rules, and that any future rule changes should also be subject to public comment.

 

     Your Committees also note that a recommendation has been made to retain the current language that the fees partially defray the costs of administering specific programs in order to more accurately portray the role that fees play in the state historic preservations division program's overall budget, and to include language that restricts the expenditure of monies raised from review fees to support for the staff which do the reviews.  Your Committees urge the Department of Land and Natural Resources to continue to work with interested stakeholders to ensure that the language is sufficiently clear in meeting the intent of this measure.

 

     Your Committees have also been in discussions with the state historic preservation division program regarding the program's role in ensuring appropriate signage for historic and cultural properties and have amended this measure to incorporate recommendations developed through these discussions.

 

     Your Committees have amended this measure accordingly, by:

 

     (1)  Authorizing the Hawaii Historic Places Review Board to develop policies on signage in historic districts; and

 

     (2)  Inserting an effective date of upon its approval.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Economic Development and Technology and Water, Land, and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1972, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1972, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Economic Development and Technology and Water, Land, and Housing,

 

____________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair		____________________________ CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair