UPDATE: VICTORY!
HOUSE BILL 676 IS DEAD FOR THIS SESSION.
IT HAS BEEN SENT BACK TO COMMITTEE
BY BOTH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE!
PLEASE THANK OUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES!
MAHALO NUI to everyone who contacted our legislators. Our collective efforts made a huge difference on HB676. Both the House and the Senate agreed to send the bill back to committee, which means that this bad bill is dead until next year.
Only last Friday, changes were made to the bill that expanded its narrow affordable housing focus to give counties power to allow any proposed urban uses of land, including industrial and resort uses, for any category of land, including Conservation land. That revision retained none of the protections offered in earlier versions of the legislation. The Bill was posted on Saturday, and in less than three days, people from across Maui and the rest of Hawaiʻi spoke up against this attack on our land use law.
Although amendments were then made to the worst parts of the bill, it still would have given counties the ability to change state land use districts for areas up to 100 acres. Given Maui County’s history of approving projects that the State Land Use Commission and even the courts have found violate state law, we were very concerned. The bill would have put burials at risk, along with other archaeological sites, scenic vistas, and water quality. The protections that the Land Use Commission offers — like decisions made by people who do not receive campaign contributions, and the right to cross-examine developers — would have disappeared for these projects.
Please email our legislators and THANK them for sending HB676 back to committee. Legislators need to hear from their constituents that they did the right thing.
Our voices matter, and WE HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE!
Send emails to:
reps@capitol.hawaii.gov
sens@capitol.hawaii.gov
Mahalo nui for protecting Maui’s future and our quality of life!