Zombie Bill Hearings Friday: SB2062, SB2068, SB570
/We are just one week into the 2022 Legislative Session and three bad zombie bills are already moving (read: bills that come back from the dead year after year). All three bills have hearings on Friday, if you have a minute, please submit testimony in opposition!
Friday, January 28, 2pm in Senate Agriculture and Environment + Water and Land Committees
SB2062: Exempts proposed drilling, construction, or use of a well on Department of Agriculture leased lands from Environmental Review requirements if the land is used to support ag and food production.
Why this is bad: Hawaiʻi’s Environmental Review laws help to protect Hawaiʻi’s natural and cultural resources from exploitation and degradation. Not to mention that Hawaiʻi’s public trust water resources are already under strain from climate change, over extraction, diversions, and pollution. Exempting major infrastructure projects, like wells, from our environmental review requirements may result in needless impacts to our natural and cultural resources and associated cultural and recreational activities, by removing public and expert review in project planning and development. See 2021 version here.
Friday, January 28, 2pm in Senate Water and Land + Agriculture and Environment Committees
SB2068: Forcibly transfers tens of thousands of acres of watershed-adjacent “pasture” lands (much of which are remnant native forest lands) from the Department of Land and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture.
Why this is bad: If these lands are transferred to the Department of Agriculture, ranching activities including unrestricted grazing and clear cutting of remnant native forests could take precedence over public access for hiking, hunting, and cultural practices; watershed protection; and the preservation of native and endangered species habitat. Ranchers could likely pay even less for their use of transferred public trust lands under the DOA than the already very small fees they pay under DLNR, and ranching-related facilities on these lands could also receive exemptions from state and county environmental protection and development laws. See 2021: SB693, 2020: HB2035.
Friday, January 28, 9:30am in Senate Judiciary Committee
SB570: Requires eligibility for registration in the Hawaiʻi Register of Historic Places in order for a site to be considered a "historic property" under the Historic Preservation Law.
Why this is bad: The new restriction on what may be considered a “historic property” could disqualify Native Hawaiian cultural sites from protections under our Historic Preservation Law, such as consultation, reporting, and historic preservation review requirements. See 2021: HB245.
Testimony instructions:
Register for a capitol website account if you havenʻt yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)
Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the orange "Testimony" button.
Enter "SB2062/SB2068/SB570" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."
Input your information and your written testimony, and where it says "How will you be testifying?" make sure to check the bubble up to testify remotely via Zoom if you can!
If you are testifying via Zoom, sign back into your account on the capitol website three hours before the hearing and click on the orange "Testimony" button again; on the left hand side youʻll be able to scroll down and there will be a Zoom link next to the bill # (for more information see here)