LIHU‘E — Nearly two years after signing Act 55, which created the Public Lands Development Corporation, Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed a repeal of the controversial law Monday. The governor said last year he would veto a repeal of Act 55,
LIHU‘E — Nearly two years after signing Act 55, which created the Public Lands Development Corporation, Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed a repeal of the controversial law Monday.
The governor said last year he would veto a repeal of Act 55, but later said he would consider it.
“As with any new law, public understanding and support are essential. In the case of the PLDC, best intentions and the potential for public good could not be reconciled with public concerns,” Abercrombie said in a statement after signing House Bill 1133.
Abercrombie signed Act 55 into law on May 20, 2011, following the state Legislature’s approval of Senate Bill 1555. Act 55 created the PLDC and gave its five board members broad powers to allow commercial development on public lands — including 1.8 million acres of ceded lands — while circumventing county zoning laws.
Rep. Dee Morikawa, D-16th District, was one of the 22 state lawmakers who co-introduced HB 1133, which repeals Chapter 171C of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes. Two years ago, she said, she was one of those who allowed Act 55 to become law.
“I didn’t really understand what it meant,” Morikawa said. “I didn’t vote ‘no’ on it; I was one of those ‘yes’ that allowed it to become law.”
She said that after listening to the community, she agreed there were some “serious concerns” regarding the PLDC. The intent of the law may have been good, but it became “too broad,” Morikawa said.
“Because the people spoke out, I wasn’t afraid to put my name on that bill,” she said.
Since HB 1133 was originally introduced on Jan. 23, it didn’t receive a single vote against it in any hearing either at the House or the Senate.
Morikawa and Rep. Jimmy Tokioka, D-15th District, voted for the bill at the House Finance Committee; Rep. Derek Kawakami, D-14th District, voted in favor of the bill at the House Water and Land Committee; and Senate Vice President Ron Kouchi vote for the bill at the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
The intention of Act 55 was to generate additional revenues for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which has been hit with a large budgetary cut in the last decade. But bypassing county home-rule and handing public lands over to developers turned out to be a highly unpopular measure among Hawai‘i’s constituents.
During a series of statewide PLDC meetings in August 2012 to gather public input, communities across Hawai‘i overwhelmingly opposed the corporation and its broad powers.
The Kaua‘i County Council on Sept. 26 received a standing ovation from several community members after passing a resolution urging state legislators and Abercrombie to repeal Act 55. Other counties also passed resolutions against Act 55.
Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., to the surprise of council members, would not support the council’s resolution.
“We don’t support … the measure to repeal the act,” County Managing Director Gary Heu said on Sept. 26. “We prefer to find a way to deal with the existing law, we support work with our legislators, work with the community, work with anyone else who would like to be a part of that, to address the many, many concerns that exist with Act 55,”
A series of statewide Repeal Act 55 rallies followed.
Several bills dealing with different degrees of repealing Act 55 were introduced in this year’s Legislature.
HB 1133 passed final reading at the Senate on April 15, and on the next day, the House agreed with the Senate’s decision.
Abercrombie’s signature Monday seals the fate for PLDC.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.
