HB 491 Hawaii House · 2025 Regular Session

RELATING TO LAND LEASES.

Summary

Prohibits the State from leasing any public lands, or extending the lease of any public lands, to any individual, corporation, or federal agency that is in arrears in the payment of certain moneys to the State, is noncompliant with a consent decree or memoranda of agreement with the State that requires environmental maintenance or remediation with regard to the subject public lands, or has been found to be in violation of federal or state laws aimed at protecting the environment. Requires certification by the Office of the Governor before the issuance or extension of any federal lease that the individual, corporation, or federal agency is in good standing with the State. Provides that, if any existing lessee of public lands is found not to be in good standing with the State as of the effective date of this Act, the lessee shall have three years, or until the end of the lease term, whichever is sooner, to correct the violation or the lease shall be terminated. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Last action Feb 6, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB491 → HB491_HD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill was amended to add stricter requirements for public land leases, including new provisions prohibiting leases to entities with unpaid state debts, environmental violations, or legal noncompliance. The amendment also requires Governor certification before issuing leases to federal agencies and adds a three-year grace period for existing lessees to correct violations before lease termination. Additionally, the effective date was changed from July 1, 3000 to July 1, 2025.

Scope change

The bill now applies more broadly to federal agencies and includes new eligibility criteria that prevent leasing to entities with unpaid state obligations, environmental noncompliance, or legal violations.

ELIGIBILITY

New restrictions prohibit leasing public lands to individuals, corporations, or federal agencies that owe money to the State, are noncompliant with environmental orders, or have violated environmental laws.

REQUIREMENT

Requires the Office of the Governor to certify that lessees are in good standing with the State before issuing or extending leases to federal agencies.

Added new subsections to Section 2(a) regarding environmental protections and public access to pier facilities on leased lands.

ENFORCEMENT

Existing lessees found not in good standing have three years to correct violations before lease termination.

TIMELINE

Effective date changed from July 1, 3000 to July 1, 2025.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 6, 2025

Committee

Reported from WAL (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 195) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Feb 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on WAL recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Hashem, Lamosao, Belatti, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Morikawa, Poepoe, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to WAL, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 2

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors