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State House and Senate lawmakers Thursday delayed approval of the Mauna Kea governance bill, saying it continues to be a work in progress.
A conference committee, formed to iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions of House Bill 2024, will reconvene at 1:30 p.m. today in state Capitol Room 16.
The latest draft would create an independent authority that would assume management of the mountain from the University of Hawaii following a five-year transition period. The management would include oversight of the observatories at the summit of Hawaii’s tallest mountain.
Lawmakers say their aim is to find a path forward that offers a role to Native Hawaiians in managing the mountain while providing a stable future for astronomy. The bill does not address the future of the planned Thirty Meter Telescope, which has cast a shadow of controversy over Mauna Kea over the past seven years or so.
