Relating To Environmental Stewardship Fees.
This bill establishes an Environmental Stewardship Fee Program within the Department of Land and Natural Resources to charge visitors a $50 annual fee, through a license, before entering certain state-owned beaches, parks, forests, trails, recreational natural areas, and coastlines identified by the Board of Land and Natural Resources as needing stewardship due to visitor impacts. The program is aimed at generating dedicated revenue to protect, restore, enhance, and manage Hawaii’s natural and cultural resources, with a stated focus on resilience to climate change, overuse, invasive species, and ecosystem degradation.
The bill creates an Environmental Stewardship Commission to advise on the program and recommend how revenues are spent, and it establishes a special fund to receive license revenue, fines, legislative appropriations, earnings, and private donations. The fund may support state agency projects, program administration, grants to nonprofit organizations, grants to local governments, and matching funds for federal grants, with priorities including nature-based solutions, restoration of marine and terrestrial resources, and protection of Native Hawaiian cultural resources. The bill also requires annual reporting to the Legislature and authorizes the board to adopt rules to implement the program.
The bill would add a new part to chapter 171, Hawaii Revised Statutes, creating a new visitor fee and licensing regime tied to access to designated state-owned natural areas. It would also establish a new special fund in the state treasury, a new commission, reporting requirements, rulemaking authority, and civil enforcement provisions, while appropriating $3 million for the fund, $3 million for commission and strategic plan development, and $250,000 annually for staffing. In practical terms, it shifts part of the cost of environmental management from general revenues to visitors and creates a dedicated funding stream for conservation, restoration, and cultural resource protection.
The bill’s framing is strongly supportive of conservation funding and visitor responsibility, emphasizing public trust duties, climate resilience, and the idea that visitors should help pay for the impacts they create. The structure of the bill suggests an intent to build a durable, programmatic funding source rather than rely on ad hoc appropriations. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of formal support or opposition in the available record.
The main points of potential contention are the new $50 fee on visitors, the requirement that visitors obtain a license before entering certain public lands, and the prospect of civil fines for noncompliance beginning in 2030. Another likely issue is administrative discretion: the board would decide which sites require licenses, how fees are adjusted, how revenues are allocated, and which projects receive grants. Stakeholders most likely to raise concerns include tourism interests, visitors, and groups worried about access or enforcement burdens, while supporters are likely to include environmental organizations, Native Hawaiian cultural advocates, and agencies seeking dedicated conservation funding.