The 2021 legislative session has ended with nearly a dozen new laws protecting natural and cultural resources in the state.
Among the bills passed this session include several that grant additional authority to the Department of Land and Natural Resources to establish protections for natural resources throughout the state.
“People who have observed DLNR efforts and proposals in the legislature for many years, believe the 2021 session may have been the best ever or certainly in a very long time,” said DLNR chair Suzanne Case. “We made significant progress with legislation to further protect our precious — and in some cases fast-diminishing resources — to beef up natural and cultural resources enforcement, and to fund some of these efforts without further burdening Hawaii taxpayers.”
Most significantly, the bills passed include House Bill 1020, which allows the Board of Land and Natural Resources to temporarily impose or repeal certain natural resource rules in order to respond to crises such as coral bleaching events.
“This gives us the ability, through noticed Board action with public input, to respond quickly to unanticipated threats…with temporary fixes for up to two years to help the environment recover — something in between a very short-term emergency rule and a permanent rule change,” Case said. “It’s very cutting edge for today’s world.”
Also included was House Bill 1276, which authorizes the BLNR to adopt or change fee schedules for state parks, allowing the state to charge fees to visit beaches, go camping, and more.
Other bills passed include:
• Senate Bill 772, which authorizes the selling of special license plates to support the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement.
• HB 1023, which requires non-Hawaii residents to obtain a recreational fishing license.
• HB 1019, which establishes a Hawaii Ocean Stewardship Special Fund.
• HB 1022, which allows DOCARE agents to check the take of hunters and fishers to ensure they comply with regulations.
• HB 1018, which allows the DLNR to establish permitting processes for the use of lay nets.
• HB 863, which appropriates funds to expand state tree nursery programs.
• HB 1176, which allows for the creation of a green job youth corps program.
• HB 1009 which increases fines for destroying or harvesting trees on state forest reserves, and establishes penalties for violating forest reserve laws and rules.
• SB 796, which amends criteria for calculating small boat harbor fees.