Bill Text: HI HR27 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting State Law Enforcement Entities, Including The Department Of The Attorney General, Sheriff Division Of The Department Of Public Safety, And Harbors Division Of The Department Of Transportation, To Collaborate With The Division Of Conservation And Resources Enforcement Of The Department Of Land And Natural Resources To Support Its Mission.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-08 - Referred to WAL, JHA, referral sheet 22 [HR27 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2022-HR27-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	27
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting state law enforcement entities, including the department of the attorney general, sheriff division of the Department of public safety, and harbors division of the department of transportation, to collaborate with the division of conservation and resources enforcement of the department of land and natural resources to support its mission.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) of the Department of Land and Natural Resources is responsible for enforcement activities for the Department, including enforcement of all state laws and rules involving state lands, state parks, historic sites, forest reserves, aquatic life, wildlife areas, coastal zones, conservation districts, and state shores, as well as county ordinances involving county parks; and

 

     WHEREAS, the mission of DOCARE is to uphold the laws that serve to protect, conserve, and manage Hawaii's unique and limited natural, cultural, and historic resources held in public trust for current and future generations of residents of, and visitors to, Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, although DOCARE's jurisdiction covers state-owned lands from the mountains to three miles offshore, DOCARE only employs about one hundred officers across all the islands that comprise Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State's natural resources are sacred and must be protected in a manner that will allow them to be preserved for the benefit and enjoyment of generations to come; and

 

     WHEREAS, in a recent Maui News report, DOCARE Chief, Jason Redulla, explained that "DOCARE has limited resources and cannot be everywhere all the time", and this limitation in resources undermines the ability of DOCARE officials to fulfill its mission; and

 

     WHEREAS, a news report from the Sacramento Bee from January 2021 indicated that the Department of Land and Natural Resources was forced to temporarily shut down Makena's Pu‘u Ola‘i "due to large, illegal gatherings during the pandemic" involving "nudity, illegal alcohol and other illicit substances"; and

 

     WHEREAS, at Pokai Bay on Oahu, boats illegally harbored close to shore have dumped their sewage into the water and previously ignored requests to vacate, while offshore of Kawaihae in Hawaii County, aquarium fish were illegally harvested; and

 

     WHEREAS, in addition to closures at Makena, the Department of Land and Natural Resources has been forced to close certain access points to Keawe‘ula and Ka‘ena Point State Park due to a lack of trained staff available to provide management and enforcement; and

 

     WHEREAS, these areas all fall under the jurisdiction of DOCARE, but because DOCARE is understaffed, there is a lack of enforcement presence; and

 

     WHEREAS, as a focal industry for the State, tourism is largely dependent on the availability and sustainability of the State's natural resources; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, that this body requests state law enforcement entities, including the Department of the Attorney General, Sheriff Division of the Department of Public Safety, and Harbors Division of the Department of Transportation, to collaborate with the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement of the Department of Land and Natural Resources to support its mission; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General, Director of Public Safety, Director of Transportation, and Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement; Law Enforcement Entities