Bill Text: HI HB558 | 2019 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Kekaha Kai State Park.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-04-24 - Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Thursday 04-25-19 10:30AM in conference room 312. [HB558 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2019-HB558-Amended.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
558 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
S.D. 1 |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO KEKAHA KAI STATE PARK.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that lifeguards act as the primary responders for emergencies on shorelines and within nearshore waters, where the majority of ocean recreational activities take place. Lifeguards also provide injury control and dispatch ocean rescue services. Moreover, the legislature also finds that although Kua Bay is located within Kekaha Kai state park in North Kona on the island of Hawaii and is under the jurisdiction of the department of land and natural resources, the State currently does not employ its own lifeguards at Kua Bay.
The legislature further finds that the location of Kua Bay between Kona and the resorts of the Kohala Coast and improvements made to Kekaha Kai state park, such as a paved road and comfort station, have led to more visits by locals and tourists, making Kua Bay one of the most popular beaches in the State. Consequently, the increase in visitation has been accompanied by an increase in dangerous incidents, injuries, and deaths, which could be mitigated by the placement of lifeguards at Kua Bay.
Emergency medical service patient care reported twenty-eight calls from the Kua Bay area between 2013 and 2016, fourteen in 2016 alone. Nineteen of the calls resulted in hospitalization for traumatic injuries. Additionally, the Hawaii Trauma Registry reports that seven spinal cord injuries occurred in the Kua Bay Area from 2009 to 2013. According to the department of health's emergency medical services and injury prevention system branch's GIS database of fatal drownings, three people have drowned in the Kua Bay area since 2013.
The purpose of this Act is to save lives and prevent injuries at Kua Bay by appropriating funds for employing four lifeguards and purchasing necessary equipment.
SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2019-2020 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020-2021 for the establishment of four full time equivalent (4.0 FTE) permanent ocean safety officers for Maniniowali beach at Kua Bay in Kekaha Kai state park on the island of Hawaii; provided that the county of Hawaii shall hire and provide benefits for the four full-time equivalent (4.0 FTE) permanent ocean safety officer positions established pursuant to this Act.
The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION
3. There is appropriated out of the
general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of
$ or so much thereof as may be
necessary for fiscal year 2019-2020 for the department of land and natural
resources to purchase equipment to be used by state ocean safety officers in
the course of their work at Maniniowali
beach at Kua Bay in Kekaha Kai state park on the island of Hawaii; provided
that the sum appropriated shall be expended as follows:
(1) $ for one lifeguard tower;
(2) $ for one all-terrain vehicle;
(3) $ for radios;
(4) $ for rescue equipment; and
(5) $ for protective equipment.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.
Report Title:
DLNR; Kua Bay; Lifeguards; Equipment; Appropriations
Description:
Appropriates funds to the Department of Land and Natural Resources for employing lifeguards and purchasing life-saving equipment at Kua Bay in Kekaha Kai State Park on the island of Hawaii. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
