The Molokai Times
Monday, May 5, 2008
By Kate Gardiner
Molokai was awarded more than $18.5 million in capital expenditures for 2008. The legislature awarded this island 41 percent of the money to be distributed to Molokai in the second year of the biennium (two-year) budget.
Moving quickly to respond to various layoffs around the state, legislators voted to pass a bill extending state-funded healthcare for the children of those laid off by Molokai Ranch and Aloha Airlines.
Among major milestones this session was the Harbors Modernization bill, which will spend more than $862 million to renew the infrastructure of Hawaii's harbors, including the wharfs at Kaunakakai and Kalaupapa.
Sen. J. Kalani English said the legislation was landmark because, "Once every 75 or 100 years we do this sort of infrastructure renewal … Oahu is two years from capacity and the wharfs in Maui County are at capacity."
Also related to transportation and Molokai, English noted the passing of a bill that will give the Molokai Princess and other intra-island ferries preferential mooring in Lahaina and will free the boat of encumbering state fuel taxes.
English said the legislation was intended to keep passenger costs down in light of the rising price of fuel, and save time for those riding the ferry. The ferry, and other regularly scheduled boats, will no longer have to wait for moorings in the harbor while ships tender passengers.
Among other bills he highlighted in a post-session interview from Guam, were a pair of bills intended to protect taro. The first made the ancestral plant the state plant of Hawaii, and the second allotted about $300,000 for research that could lead to eradicating the apple snail.
The money will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
English also highlighted the apology to the residents of the Hansen's disease colony at Kalaupapa. "I think it's the first apology ever issued by the state of Hawaii," said English. "In September or October, I will probably go down there to apologize on behalf of the state … it's healing the history."
Bill opens loophole for development
Senate Bill 2646, which passed through the legislature despite the votes against it by both Molokai's senator and state representative, may ultimately provide a loophole for landowners looking to sell or develop property. Legislators attempted to tempt large landowners to designate land they own as important agricultural land, effectually guaranteeing agriculturally viable open space near developed areas.
In exchange, landowners are entitled to change the zoning on 15 percent of the total area to urban development.
If, for example, Molokai Ranch, were to apply this zoning amendment to its 66,000 acres on the island, it would be able to designate 9,900 acres urban. English said that he voted against the measure because he did not feel that it adequately benefited those in rural areas of his district. Additionally, the rule changes the decision-making authority from the Land Use Commission to a simple declaratory ruling.
English characterized those changes as a "poison pill," and that despite having been for the bill in the past, he had to vote against it because of the provisions, housed in section 10.
English predicted that next year, if the bill is signed into law in the next 45 days, the legislature will attempt to remove section 10 from the code.
The bill was founded on a piece of the Hawaiian Constitution setting aside "important agricultural lands" following the 1978 Constitutional Convention. English said the bone of contention, section 10, remained despite Senate pleas, at the insistence of members of the House in committee.
An important agricultural land designation entitles the property owner to tax incentives and priority water rights, among other things. The purpose is ostensibly to require the state to conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable land. Gov. Lingle has 45 days to evaluate the bills passed by the legislature and sign those she chooses into law. The rest can either be passed without signature or vetoed. If either of those two options was to happen, legislators can choose to reconvene for a special one-day session in July.
Original article URL: http://www.molokaitimes.com/articles/855161612.asp