Bill Text: HI SCR227 | 2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: UH Institute for Astronomy; Mauna Kea Lands; Accounting
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-04-12 - (H) Referred to HED/WLO, LMG, referral sheet 66 [SCR227 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2010-SCR227-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
227 |
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TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING, FOR REVIEW BY THE LEGISLATURE, AN ACCOUNTING AND REPORT CONCERNING ITEMS OF VALUE, INCLUDING VIEWING TIME ON MAUNA KEA TELESCOPES, PROVIDED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOR THE LEASE OR USE OF FACILITIES ON PUBLIC TRUST LANDS ON THE SUMMIT OF MAUNA KEA.
WHEREAS, the lands on the summit of Mauna Kea are public lands returned to Hawaii at Statehood (1959) under section 5(f) of the Admission Act and subject to an express public trust; and
WHEREAS, that trust imposes an express public trust duty and legal restrictions on the State, including a requirement that all revenues derived from the use of the public trust lands must be deposited into the public lands trust fund; and
WHEREAS, under section 171‑17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the State's Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) is required to assess and charge fair-market lease rent for the use of section 5(f) public trust lands (ceded lands); and
WHEREAS, in 1961, the Mauna Kea summit, forestry, and watershed lands were designated for protection and classified as a state conservation district, pursuant to section 205‑2, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
WHEREAS, in 1968, the BLNR leased approximately 13,320 acres of public trust lands on the Mauna Kea summit and slopes to the University of Hawaii (UH) for "a scientific complex, including without limitation an observatory...." (General Lease No. S‑4191); and
WHEREAS, the lease term was sixty-five years until 2033, and the lease rent to UH was a nominal $1 per year; and
WHEREAS, the lease or setting aside of public trust lands from BLNR to a state department, agency, or county is often made for nominal or no rent because the entities are sub-units of the State; and
WHEREAS, since 1968, UH has entered into multiple sub-lease and use agreements with private third parties for the development of telescope facilities on Mauna Kea's summit; and
WHEREAS, in exchange for the sub-lease and use agreements, UH obtained the right to viewing time on each of the telescopes and a formally-established sub-lease rent of a nominal amount; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the House of Representatives concurring, that the UH is requested to provide to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2011, a written accounting and report setting forth the following information:
(1) A list of the total viewing time provided to UH, its employees, agents, faculty, researchers, affiliates, graduate students, visiting scientists, and all those operating under or in association with UH, without exception, for each telescope or astronomical facility on Mauna Kea by year since 2007;
(2) A determination of the financial value by night or by hour of the viewing time for each facility for each year since 2007 for all of the viewing time set forth in paragraph (1);
(3) A list of all value (viewing time, financial, quid pro quo exchanges, and any and every other benefit) received by UH in relation to each facility on Mauna Kea (or the sponsor) by year since 2007;
(4) A list and copy of every contract or working agreement or any other agreement UH has entered into for the use of any facility on Mauna Kea by year since 2007; and
(5) A plan of action that will ensure UH will develop a self-sustaining model to meet its obligation to the community while working to preserve and protect the Mauna Kea lands including a process and considerations for the negotiation of future lease agreements; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the University of Hawaii, the Executive Director of the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, the Chair of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii, the Chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, and the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
UH Institute for Astronomy; Mauna Kea Lands; Accounting
