Uncertain about whether they have the votes, state House leaders have put off a decision on whether to finance $40 million in bond money for a conservation easement at Turtle Bay Resort until Thursday, the last day of session.
Some lawmakers have complained that the scope of the terms of the conservation easement — including public access — is not in writing. Others have said that the Legislature has not had enough time to evaluate the $48.5 million deal announced this month among Gov. Neil Abercrombie, the city, a private land trust and the resort’s developers to preserve 665 acres.
"We just have to evaluate the votes. It’s not clear what the level of support is at this point," said House Majority Leader Scott Saiki (D, Downtown-Kakaako-McCully).
House and Senate negotiators had reached an understanding Friday on a bill that would finance the state’s $40 million share of the Turtle Bay deal through revenue bonds. The state and the Hawaii Tourism Authority would restructure debt on the Hawai‘i Convention Center and use about $3 million in hotel room tax revenue annually to underwrite debt service on the bonds.
The bill would also stipulate that the public would have access to the conservation easement at Turtle Bay forever.
But the bill was hastily written — the final language was shouted out across a conference committee table in a crowded hearing room just before an internal deadline Friday evening — so many lawmakers had no opportunity to review the draft.
Because the bill was a product of conference committee, there was no public hearing.
Lea Hong and Doug Cole of the Trust for Public Land, which would contribute $3.5 million toward the Turtle Bay agreement, have been briefing lawmakers over the past few days. They have argued that the agreement — which also includes $5 million from the city — is an opportunity to ensure public access to the land forever, including five miles of shoreline, wetlands and sand dunes.
Conservation advocates, many wearing the distinctive green T-shirts of the Defend Oahu Coalition, came to the state Capitol on Tuesday expecting final votes.
But several lawmakers have problems with the deal.
Rep. James Tokioka (D, Wailua-Hanamaulu-Lihue), who said he supports conservation, said the Abercrombie administration has not shown lawmakers enough detail. A source close to the governor has said that some of the details — including specifics about public access — would likely be worked out with the resort’s developers during the closing of the transaction, but lawmakers want more information now.
"The biggest problem that many of us have is we haven’t even seen the details of the deal," Tokioka said. "We don’t know what we’re buying for $40 million."
The Turtle Bay vote went smoothly Tuesday in the Senate, where the bill was approved unanimously.
Sen. David Ige (D, Pearl Harbor-Pearl City-Aiea), who crafted the unique legislation that would finance the deal, called the land near Kawela Bay and Kahuku Point "pristine land that is one of the finest examples of the state’s natural beauty. And it is important to preserve this in perpetuity for the benefit of the public, including visitors and residents alike who pay the (hotel room tax)."
Sen. Clayton Hee (D, Heeia-Laie-Waialua) said he was grateful for Ige and other senators who found a creative solution under the pressure of a conference committee deadline.
"They preserve for all time — for generations yet unborn — the privilege of seeing an area that will not change on the island of Oahu," Hee said.
State lawmakers cast final votes Tuesday on the state budget, a minimum-wage increase, mandatory kindergarten and a two-year boost in the hotel room tax revenue shared with the counties.
Final approval was given to a bill that would grant victims another two years to file lawsuits over decades-old child sexual abuse claims. Lawmakers also agreed to lift the statute of limitations on prosecutions for first- and second-degree sexual assault and the continuous sexual assault of a minor under 14.
Lawmakers voted to eliminate life sentences without parole for juvenile offenders. They also approved bills that would criminalize revenge porn and prohibit police officers from having sex with prostitutes during undercover sting operations.
Bills that would create environmental courts and provide $5 million to contain invasive species such as the little fire ant also passed.
Lawmakers approved a bill that would allow for voter registration at absentee polling places during the 2016 elections and voter registration on Election Day at precincts starting with the 2018 elections.
Lawmakers also decided to impose legislative oversight on the Hawaii Health Connector, the troubled state health insurance exchange in President Barack Obama’s federal health care reform law.
The House and Senate will close the 60-day session Thursday with final floor votes on several bills.
Senators agreed to accept the House version of a bill that would make permanent the liability protections for warning signs on outdoor recreation on public land. Senators also agreed to take the House draft of a bill that would require lobbyists to disclose spending within 30 days of special sessions, a bill that was in response to the special session on gay marriage last year.
House leaders chose to delay until Thursday a decision on a bill that would explore a state land exchange with Castle & Cooke to preserve about 20,000 acres of Dole Food Co. land in agriculture and conservation. Sources said that the House might be sending a message to Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz (D, Wheeler-Wahiawa-Schofield), the bill’s sponsor, who had refused to appear at a conference committee Monday on a manufacturing tax credit bill that House lawmakers, in particular, had wanted to pass.
Abercrombie has until early July to decide whether to sign, veto or allow the bills passed this week to become law without his signature.
