With over 3,000 bills introduced each year at the State level only 10% make it to law. From committee hearings in both the Senate and House, to Conference Committee Surfrider Foundation Hawaiʻi Region played an active role in pushing through legislation that protects our oceans, waves, and beaches for all people.
This year Surfrider Hawaiʻi partnered with the University of Hawaiʻi William Richardson Environmental Law Clinic. Six fantastic students quickly learned the ropes of the Hawaiʻi Legislature and provided invaluable support.
In total Surfrider Hawaiʻi submitted over 30 public comments on 15 bills and two resolutions, hosted four lobby days and met in person with legislators on priority bills, and rallied hundreds of community testimonies this session. Three of our priority bills passed out of legislature and now await signature at the Governors desk. We also helped to stop or improve four harmful bills and resolutions.
HB1137- Expanding Definition of Beach Restoration (passed!)
Allows state to effectively manage shorelines by opening funding to include dune restoration and removal of derelict and abandoned materials (ie. remnant geotextiles from temporary erosion controls). With accelerating beach loss and increasing sea levels, this bill is a critical step towards effectively expanding the toolbox of beach management actions that maintain beaches and dunes building a more resilient coastline.
Link to campaign page
We also worked diligently to ensure that bills that would compromise our coasts & climate did not pass. Below are bills that we helped to stop from passing this session.
SB534/HB605 (deffered) Office of Hawaiian Affairs proposed development of 400 foot towers on contaminated shoreline brownfield in Kaka'ako. Not only does this area have complex environmental concerns that would arise through development, but this is one of the last open areas left on Honolulu South Shores. If allowed, this development could allow other parcel owners to build similar 400 ft towers along Ala Moana Blvd.
SB964 (died) Public private partnership that would fund multiple trash incinerators in Hawai'i. Although waste-to-energy facilities are framed as a step towards a renewable energy future, the reality of these facilities is that they produce toxic ash as a byproduct of burning trash to energy and risk the contamination of our environment and threaten public health.
HB732 (passed with improved ammendments) Raises SMA minor permit valuation from $500K to $750K, removing public oversight and environmental review for coastal developments. This bill alllows land uses and activities taht were previously subject to SMA major permitting process, including rigorous review by federal, state, county agencies and the public, to avoid this important process. As it stands, already many developers and investors have consistently distorted and taken advantage of the SMA requirements. Although this bill passed out of legislature to the governors desk, we helped add an amendment that at least removed shoreline parcels from the bill and are actively advocating with Governor Green to veto this bill all together.
Read our Testimony here (page 13)
SCR47 (deferred) This Senate Concurrent Resolution would authorize the issuance of an easement to West Maui Condo to construct rock revetment at Hololani Resort Condominium in Kahana- an area already experiencing severe coastal erosion from shoreline development. We advocated against this in December at a Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) hearing alongside West Maui community members. BLNR ruled to deny the request in favor of protecting public trust resources. The Senate Committe on Water and Land deferred the measure.
Read our testimony here (page 16)
Hawaiʻi faces serious public health and environmental threats due to outdated wastewater management systems, particularly cesspools. 88,000 cesspools are one of the biggest threats to water quality across the state, discharging 53 million gallons daily of sewage into coastal waters. Act 125 mandates that all Hawai’i Residents upgrade their cesspools by 2050. This is a daunting task for many residents financially. As such clean water priority legislation this year focused on alleviating the financial burden of this upgrade and identifying more affordable wastewater technologies.
HB879- Increase financial assistance for cesspool conversions (passed!)
Raises Cesspool Compliance Grant Project by increasing max funding from $20K to $30K. Given the rising costs of conversion, this adjustment provides essential support to low and moderate income homeowners, helping them to meet state-mandated cesspool conversion deadlines. Additionally this bill funds administrative support within the Department of Health, ensuring effective implementation and outreach for the program.
HB736- Fund UH pilot program to evaluate affordable wastewater technologies (passed!)
Save money by adopting cost-effective wastewater solutions without compromising water quality. Solving Hawai’i’s wastewater crisis will require innovation. This bill establishes a three year pilot program with University of Hawai’i Water Resources Research Center to test sustainable and affordable wastewater solutions.
Link to campaign page
SB364 (deferred) We fought and defeated this bill that would create a privatization lease program that would jeopardize beach access and free parking at Ala Wai Boat Harbor. This location is the last area for free parking in Waikīkī, provides critical beach access for ocean recreators. Popular surf spots including ‘Ala Moana Bowls’ , ‘Rockpiles’, and ‘Kaisers’ are commonly accessed through this parking lot.
Link to campaign page
SB1074 (died) The Hawaiʻi Environmental Policy Act (HEPA) is one of the states’ bedrock environmental laws requiring analysis of an action or project's impact before proceeding. SB1074 would have allowed previously permitted commercial boat activities to continue before the environmental review process has been completed.
We submitted testimony in opposition during committee hearings as well as individual meetings with legislators to alert them to the potential harm that this bill would cause for our environmental review process. This bill died in the final week of legislature when it was not scheduled a conference committee hearing.
Read our testimony here (page 38)
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A bitter end to HB348
Sadly one of our priority bills HB348, banning mini-toiletry bottles from lodging establishments in Hawaiʻi made it all the way to the finish line but did not make it through. Surfrider Hawaiʻi really led the charge in terms of rallying community support for this bill through this legislative session, activating our network to get hundreds of testimonies submitted through each leg of the journey. To our surprise, even Hawaiʻi Hotel Alliance and American Hotel & Lodgings Association came out in support of this bill. A sure sign that the tide is shifting in the visitor industry towards more sustainable choices.
In the last week of the legislative session, we spent many hours going to the offices of all conference committee members and discussing the importance of reducing single use plastic at the source. We were met with overwhelming support from all members of the conference committee across both chambers. However, the final blow was dealt not on merit or support of the measure, but on a technicality and systemic bottle neck- the House and Senate Finance committee chairs who have to approve the bill. The House Finance chair at the time, Kyle Yamashita, and Ways and Means chair, Donovan DelaCruz, did not approve the bill in time and it was deferred until next year.
This is not the outcome we had hoped for, but despite the disappointment, we can also see this as a victory in the sense that Surfrider Hawaiʻi and all three of our chapters advocated fiercely at every turn to usher this bill through the house committee hearings, Senate committee hearings, and in the final leg to make sure that the bill was given a conference committee. There is no doubt that your voice had a significant impact in shaping state policy.
Link to our testimony (page 8)
What now for hotel toiletries?
Not only have we raised awareness on the significant plastic pollution arising from wasteful single use mini-toiletry bottles within our island community, but we also were able to form connections with hotels and associations that are already moving in a similar direction. Our Ocean Friendly Hotels (OFH) Program celebrates hotels that have eliminated unnecessary single-use plastic and offers a simple, straightforward framework to help them implement practices that are better for the health of our ocean. Through our grassroots network and OFH program, and with the newly identified hotels that are aligned in our mission, we can keep the momentum going shifting the mainstream concept of a single-use plastic free visitor industry in Hawaiʻi.