OPPOSE HB1247 to stop public land development exemptions
/February 3 update:
HB1247 was heard in the House Housing + Environmental Protection Committee on February 3rd. After several cautious comments and opposition were given from testifiers, Chair Hashimoto deferred the bill—the bill is now done for this session! Mahalo nui to everyone that testified on this bad bill.
February 1:
Week two of the legislature and we are hot on the tracks of a bad bill trying to make its way through committee hearings. HB1247 is a scary environmental review exemptions bill that could have irreversible ecological, cultural, and socioeconomic impacts on public lands. Please take a minute and submit testimony in opposition!
Hearing info:
Friday, February 3, 10:35am- Committee on Housing & Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection. Agenda is here.
Bill description:
HB1247 would exempt housing developments on public lands or using public funds from Hawaii’s environmental review laws under Chapter 343.
Why this is bad:
Our environmental review law has, for 40 years, played a critical role in ensuring that certain decisions potentially impacting our islands’ environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic integrity are carefully and transparently assessed. Notably, the environmental review process includes opportunities for decisionmakers and project planners to be informed by those with a wide range of expertise, insight, and experiences, who often offer recommendations to reduce any unnecessary impacts to important public interests. Right now, the government and developers need to be even more diligent in protecting Hawaiʻi’s public trust resources that are already under strain from climate destabilization, over development, diversions, and pollution. Exempting development projects on public lands or that receive public funds from environmental review may therefore have irreversible and unnecessary environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic impacts on the public - now, and for generations into the future.
The Sierra Club notes that there are a number of strategies, many of which are currently under consideration by this legislature, that can be prioritized, to address the multi-faceted housing crisis our islands are experiencing – without risking the potentially unnecessary and irreversible erosion of critically important public interests, or creating the substantial public conflict and controversy this measure invites.
Sample testimony
Dear Chair Lowen, Chair Hashimoto, Vice Chair Cochran, Vice Chair Aiu, and members of the Committees,
I OPPOSE HB1247, which aims to exempt certain housing developments from environmental review law. As a resident of these islands, I recognize the critical importance of housing for our current and future generations to keep Hawaiʻi a place they call home. However, the housing crisis cannot be used to strip away critical protections for our natural and cultural resources that make our home so special to us - and that could be unnecessarily impacted or destroyed as a result. (Include personal story or connection to a particular place you love). As such, exempting development projects from thorough and informed environmental review may have irreversible environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic impacts that must be carefully considered, not bypassed.
Please vote against HB1247 to ensure the responsible development of our precious lands and public trust resources. Mahalo nui!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
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 "HB1247" 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 HB1247 (for more information see here)