Daily Archives: March 11, 2008

I try my best to work with everyone as best as I can.  Policy debates are good because we are fighting on what we believe is best for Hawai'i.  I am just tired of opponents within our party and in the opposite party attacking at a personal level.  They pick on individuals and spin things in a way to make the person look bad.  They leak things to the media.  They try to get certain individuals out of office as best as they can.  Some politicians act all nice in public, but are mean to others in the political world.  Others are just waiting for you to be vulnerable.  You can try to be nice to others, and then they give it you.  You take the hits and move forward.  This all gets very tiring.  I know who my friends are in this political world.  A close colleague of mine always says, “It (politics) is a ninja world.”

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 266, House Draft 2

Public trust; Conveyance of real property and cash to OHA ($)

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

The purpose of this bill is to most effectively and responsibly meet the State's constitutional obligations to native Hawaiians with regard to the benefits from the lands in the public trust referred to in Article XII, Sections 4 and 6, of the Hawaii Constitution (public trust lands).  Among other things, this bill:

1.         Conveys certain parcels of land in Kakaako Makai and Kalaeloa Makai on Oahu and on Hilo Banyan Drive on the island of Hawaii, and pays $13,189,860 to the    Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) for the period from November 7, 1978, to July 1, 2008, as a result of a re-examination of the State's constitutional obligation to native Hawaiians;

2.         Establishes a method for determining for each fiscal biennium, beginning in fiscal biennium 2009-2011, the amount of income and proceeds that OHA is to receive from the public trust lands;

3.         Finds that the amount of income and proceeds OHA is to receive from the public trust lands for fiscal year 2008-2009 is $15,100,000 and mandating the disbursement of the sum to OHA;

4.         Authorizes the chairperson of OHA to appoint an additional member to the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA); and

5.         Exempts the Kakaako Makai lands conveyed to OHA from certain powers that HCDA has over those lands.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 2429, House Draft 2

Creates the University of Hawaii Stadium Corporation and transfers the duties of maintenance, operation, management, and improvement of Aloha Stadium from the Stadium Authority to the Stadium Corporation.

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

            The legislature finds that Aloha stadium is a public asset with major structural deficiencies yet untapped potential.  The legislature further finds that transferring jurisdiction over Aloha stadium to a public body with corporate powers is in the public interest.  The legislature believes that such a corporation would be better able to maximize the use and, consequently, income of Aloha stadium and generate support for the capital improvement of Aloha stadium to substantially extend its useful life.  The legislature also believes that placing Aloha stadium under a corporation may result in the generation of net income transferable to the University of Hawaii's intercollegiate athletics program.

            The purpose of this Act is to create the University of Hawaii stadium corporation and transfer jurisdiction over Aloha stadium to the corporation.  The primary duty of the stadium corporation is to operate, maintain, manage, and improve Aloha stadium with the University of Hawaii as the major tenant.  The secondary duty is to generate net income from Aloha stadium that may be transferred to the intercollegiate athletics program of the University of Hawaii.  The stadium corporation will be headed by a board of directors consisting of 11 members:  the University of Hawaii president, five members appointed by the university board of regents, and five other members appointed by the governor, subject to the confirmation of the senate.  All board members must have experience in business, marketing, accounting, economics, engineering, architecture, or sports administration.  This bill also provides the stadium corporation with a certain degree of autonomy and flexibility to perform its duties.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 2323, House Draft 2

Resort Beach Restoration ($)

March 4, 2008

I rise in support.

            This bill would establish within the beach restoration special fund a sub-account to be known as the resort beach restoration fund to be administered by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (department), into which shall be deposited general funds appropriated by the legislature and revenues from the tourism special fund, which receives moneys from the transient accommodations tax prescribed by section 237D-6.5(b)(2)(C) of the Hawaii Revised Statutes provided that:

1.         No funds shall be released for expenditure from the resort beach restoration fund unless matched by non-state funds on at least a one-to-one basis; and

2.         No funds shall be released for expenditure from the resort beach restoration fund unless at least fifty per cent of the funds released are funds transferred from the tourism special fund pursuant to section 237D-6.5(b)(2)(C).

            Moneys in the resort beach restoration fund shall be used to provide for the development and restoration of visitor area resort beaches, including maintenance of any improvements placed on the visitor area resort beach or in the nearshore waters, as determined by the department, including debt service on any capital expenditures projects and the contracting for services for those purposes.

            The resort beach restoration fund is a creative way to get matching funds from the private sector that have a vested interest in restoring beaches fronting or near their resort hotels or tourist destinations.  Importantly, the residents of the State of Hawai'i will also get to enjoy restored beaches with their family and friends.

Thank you.

Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu

Written Remarks

House Bill 2807, House Draft 2

Incentives; Affordable Housing; Reclassification; Important Agricultural Lands

March 4, 2008

            I rise in support.

            The purpose of this bill is to provide incentives for landowners to designate their lands as important agricultural lands (IALs).  First, we are allowing a landowner, who has been granted a declaratory order from the Land Use Commission to designate all or some of the landowner's land as important agricultural land, to fulfill a state or county affordable housing assessment by providing affordable housing in lands zoned as rural in lieu of satisfying the assessment in the urban district.  “Rural districts” was amended to include agribusiness activities, including horticulture, apiculture, aquaculture, plant nurseries, and the raising and keeping of livestock; Farm worker housing; and affordable housing.

            Second, we are revising the landowner petition process for important agricultural land designation by specifying that a farmer or landowner may petition the Land Use Commission for declaratory order to designate lands as important agricultural lands in perpetuity.  Farmers or landowners that petition the Land Use Commission for declaratory order to designate lands as important agricultural lands in perpetuity are allowed to seek, in the same petition, a reclassification of land from the agricultural district to the rural district, urban district, or a combination of both, under certain conditions.

            Specifically, under Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 205-45(b), the petitioner may seek a reclassification of land in the agricultural district to the rural district, urban district, or a combination of both; provided that the:

1.         Land sought to be reclassified to the rural or urban district is within the same county as the land sought to be designated as important agricultural lands;

2.         Reclassification of the land to the rural or urban district is consistent with the relevant county general, development, and community plans; and

3.         Total acreage of the land sought to be designated or reclassified in the petition complies with the following proportions:

            a.         At least eighty per cent of the total acreage is sought to be designated as important agricultural land; and

            b.         The remainder of the acreage is sought to be reclassified to the rural or urban district.

            In a petition for a declaratory order submitted under Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 205-45 that seeks to both designate lands as important agricultural lands and reclassify lands in the agricultural district to the rural or urban district, the lands shall be deemed qualified for designation as important agricultural land if the Land Use Commission reasonably finds that the lands meet at least the criteria of subsection (c)(4), (6), and (8) of this section described below:

1.         Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 205-44(c)(4): Land with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating Class A or B; or Class C or D if the land is currently in agricultural production or could be put into productive agricultural use with the implementation of new technology or development of irrigation water;

2.         Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 205-44(c)(6): Land with sufficient quantities of water to support viable agricultural production; and

3.         Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 205-44(c)(8): Land that contributes to maintaining a critical land mass important to agricultural operating productivity.

            The criteria in identifying important agricultural lands was tightened up for this specific petition for a declaratory order because we wanted to make sure that the agricultural lands being petitioned to be designated as important agricultural lands are good for agricultural productivity in exchange for the agricultural lands being petitioned to be reclassified to the rural or urban district.

Thank you.