CapitolWatch: Sine Die 2025
By Wayne Tanaka, Chapter Director | Reading time: 5.25 minutes
The Regular Session of the 2025 Legislature adjourned on May 2nd, with the final fate of bills all but determined by the April 25th “decking” deadline. Read on for a summary of some of the notable measures we have been tracking this last month, and be sure to review our previous Capitol Watch Mālama entries as well as our hawaiicapitolwatch.org blog, for additional notes on this year’s legislative session.
The good news:
Wai
HB969, intended to protect drinking water aquifers from toxic landfills, passed final reading after a last minute approval by its Conference Committee. Its final language is now limited to islands with a population of over a half million - i.e., Oʻahu - and prohibits new landfills from being sited mauka of the underground injection control line (intended to protect drinking water sources), or on agricultural lands categorized as “Class A” under the Land Study Bureau’s land classification system.
GM770, the nomination of cultural practitioner and community leader Hannah Springer to the Water Commission’s loea, or Native Hawaiian water management expert seat, was advised and consented to by the Senate. An incredible 450-plus pages of written testimony, all in unanimous support, were submitted for Aunty Hannah’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Water and Land Committee. This historic achievement came after over a year of advocacy to push back against the Governor’s misguided and unlawful attempts to install a “loea” desired by developers, rather than the Native Hawaiian community. Watch the confirmation hearing here for a snapshot of the tremendous love and respect that Aunty Hannah has garnered over her lifetime of public and community service.
Red Hill
HB505, establishing a Red Hill “WAI Policy Coordinator” to receive funds and coordinate activities relating to the clean up of the ‘āina and wai contaminated by the Red Hill Facility, was also adopted by the legislature. Establishing an institutional entity to ensure that the Navy fulfills its remediation responsibilities is indeed an important step forward; however, the lack of mechanisms for public transparency and accountability in this bill means that the community will have to work that much harder over the ensuing decades, to ensure this WAI Policy Coordinator fulfills their responsibilities in a timely and proactive manner.
Toxics
HCR28, which would continue a working group tasked with addressing the lead contamination concerns surrounding the U.S. Marine Corps’ Puʻuloa Range Training Facility, was adopted by the House and Senate. The community must now work to ensure that the working group is provided the support it needs from the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, Marine Corps, and other parties critical to ensuring the health and safety of residents and visitors to ʻEwa Beach, Oʻahu.
Environmental Review
SB1074, which would have allowed commercial ocean activities to be permitted and commenced without first undergoing environmental review, thankfully died (for this session) after not receiving any hearings by its conference committee. Hopefully, the Department of Land and Natural Resources will now focus on expediently resolving the wastewater, public access, and public safety concerns surrounding commercial ocean operators in Kāʻanapali, which led to a successful lawsuit that then resulted in the introduction of this end-run measure.
The not-so-good news:
Coastal Development
HB732 increases the monetary trigger for a public hearing to be required for coastal development projects; this measure unfortunately was passed by the legislature at the end of April. Development actions on non-shoreline parcels along the coast that are valued up to $750,000 - up from $500,000 - will now be able to qualify for an SMA “minor” permit, which requires no public hearing; this $750,000 amount will also increase every 5 years, based on inflation. As a result, planning department staff may soon begin approving an increasing number of coastal development projects without critical information from the local community regarding natural resources, cultural practices, climate and other vulnerabilities, and other issues specific to any given project site. Those with concerns over HB732 - which turns its back on the harsh lessons we have learned in recent years about sea level rise, and the fragility and importance of our nearshore waters - should contact the Governor as soon as possible, to ask him to veto this bill - and ask others to do the same.
SB1296, also passed at the end of the month, would allow for the redevelopment of non-shoreline, coastal parcels that have been impacted by a disaster that results in an emergency proclamation - without any SMA permit whatsoever. Fortunately, the final draft of this measure was amended from its prior version, to exclude the redevelopment of parcels along the shoreline or that may be impacted by waves, and to also sunset in three years - an attempt to limit its applicability to Lahaina. However, concerns about unintended or avoidable impacts to sensitive coastlines and nearshore areas that can easily result from coastal development still remain.
Thanks to the advocacy and support of community members like you, the legislature has advanced several significant and historic measures that will help protect our islands’ cultural and environmental integrity and communities for decades to come - and rejected or significantly watered down problematic proposals that could have compromised our ability to create a resilient and hopeful future for our children, and the generations to follow. MAHALO NUI to everyone who submitted testimony, contacted their legislators, wrote op-eds, or otherwise engaged with the legislative process this year!
While the 2025 Regular Legislative Session has drawn to a close, there are clear indications that a special session (or several) may be in the works, to take up board and commission and judicial appointments, and address the ongoing and growing instability in the federal government. In addition, bills that passed the legislature may still be subject to the Governor’s veto. So please stay tuned, encourage your friends and networks to sign up for Capitol Watch action alerts, and be ready to take more action at the capitol in the months ahead!
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