Bad Public Land Bills Are Back! – OPPOSE SB2068 & SB3133
/Bad Public Land Bills Are Back!
March 2 update:
Both bills passed out of their committees and will now move to the House. You can watch the hearing here. Thank you to everyone who testified in opposition, there was overwhelming testimony against SB3133. Stay tuned for the next moves!
February 27 update:
Please submit testimony to protect our public lands! Two bad bills that may impact our public lands for generations at a time have been scheduled for hearings on Wednesday, March 2.
When is the hearing?
Wednesday, March 2, 9:30 a.m. before the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Bill number + description
SB2068 SD1 Relating to Land Management: 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.
SB3133 SD1 Relating to Disposition of Public Lands by Negotiation: This bill would allow the BLNR to issue long-term leases for any of its commercial, industrial, hotel, or resort lands, without complying with public auction requirements.
Why are these bills bad?
SB2068 SD1: 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.
SB3133 SD1: Public land leases provide critical funds for the DLNR to steward our lands and waters, and a percentage of certain lease revenues should also be set aside and transferred to OHA and DHHL for public land trust and former sugarcane lands, respectively. Direct negotiation authority for 55+ year leases could lock in low lease revenues from our most lucrative public lands for generations at a time, undermining the protection of our ‘āina and our obligations to the Hawaiian community.
Notably, a 2019 audit highlighted ways that the Land Division would be able to maximize its revenues from commercial leases, including by increasing its marketing capacity and expertise, and moving away from ground leases and using space leases instead. This measure would potentially let the Land Division stick to the status quo (as it says it prefers to do) rather than seek ways to improve their approach to leasing public lands, compromising the DLNR’s ability to care for our environment and undermining the state’s obligation to the Hawaiian community.
Sample testimonies
SB2068 SD1:
Aloha Chair Dela Cruz, Chair Rhoads, Vice Chair Keith-Agaran, Vice Chair Keohokalole, and members of the Senate Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees,
I am testifying in OPPOSITION to SB2068 SD1, which would reduce the state’s ability to ensure appropriate management for tens of thousands of acres of public lands that may host important ecological and cultural resources and sites and that may also be critical to watershed integrity and our islands’ water security.
The tens of thousands of acres of public lands that would be transferred under this bill are crucial watershed lands that have been used on a temporary basis for cattle grazing. If transferred to the Department of Agriculture, these public lands could be opened to ranching activities including unrestricted grazing and clear cutting of forests, and access for hiking, hunting, and cultural traditions would be jeopardized. It is appropriate for the agency responsible for managing the state’s watersheds, native species habitat, cultural sites, and other public trust values in our public lands to maintain its management responsibility over these high-value lands.
Therefore, I respectfully urge the Committees to HOLD this measure.
Mahalo nui,
[your name]
SB3133 SD1:
Aloha Chair Dela Cruz, Chair Rhoads, Vice Chair Keith-Agaran, Vice Chair Keohokalole, and members of the Senate Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees,
I strongly OPPOSE SB3133 SD1, which would undermine the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ ability to steward our public lands and natural and cultural resources, as well as the state’s obligations to the Hawaiian community under the public land trust and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. This measure would allow politically and financially powerful entities to negotiate directly with the BLNR for long-term commercial, industrial, or resort leases, without the public transparency or accountability required under current appraisal and public auction requirements. As a result, leases may fail to sufficiently generate much-needed revenues from our most lucrative public lands, impacting the DLNR’s ability to manage and protect our watersheds, streams, cultural sites, and other public trust resources, and reducing the amount of pro-rata funds that would otherwise be transferred to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands – for generations at a time. Accordingly, I respectfully urge your Committees to HOLD SB3133.
Mahalo nui,
[your name]
Testimony instructions:
Here’s a quick video with instructions on how to submit testimony!
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 the bill number ("SB2068" or “SB3133”) 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(s) next to the bill you would like to testify on (for more information see here).