In a decision-making meeting today, the Senate Committee on Higher Education voted to pass HB 2024 HD1 with substantive amendments. The measure, as originally written, would establish the Mauna a Wākea stewardship authority as the sole authority for management of state-managed lands on Mauna a Wākea, while also directing the authority to develop a single plan that dictates the management of land uses.

In her remarks, Senator Donna Mercado Kim, chair of the Senate Committee on Higher Education, shared that while she appreciates the House of Representatives for their efforts in convening a working group to develop recommendations for a governance and management structure for Mauna Kea, she is not convinced that the current bill, as drafted, will be able to achieve all that is envisioned by the committee.

“I am not convinced that creating an authority from scratch to manage this multi-faceted entity will be able to achieve the goals envisioned by the House working group without financially overburdening the taxpayers as well as addressing the needs of the University of Hawaii’s astronomy program,” said Senator Kim. “However, I do believe that, as a State, we need to move towards real systematic change in a manner that does not further divide our communities. This proposed Senate draft is by no means a perfect bill, but it does address concerns raised by various state agencies and the community.”

HB 2024 now heads to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means for further consideration.

Amendments proposed by the committee are attached below.