RELATING TO STATE BOATING FACILITIES.
SB2367 revises Hawaii law governing state boating facilities, with a focus on Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor. The bill authorizes the Board of Land and Natural Resources to lease the remaining portion of the harbor, including fast lands and submerged lands, for private development, management, and operation through public auction, a request for proposals, or direct negotiation. Any lease entered into under the new authority must expire no later than June 30, 2046, and the department must report annually to the Legislature on findings, recommendations, and whether the lease should continue, be modified, or be terminated.
The bill also directs the Department of Land and Natural Resources to develop and implement a project to improve the portions of Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor that serve public space and shoreline access. Those improvements are intended to preserve meaningful public parking and create safe, comfortable multimodal access between Ala Moana Beach Park and Waikiki Beach, consistent with the 2022 University of Hawaii Community Design Center vision report. In addition, the bill repeals prior Ala Wai-specific leasing language in section 200-2.6 and updates section 200-2.5 to broaden leasing authority for state boating facilities generally.
SB2367 amends Chapter 200, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by expanding and clarifying the Board of Land and Natural Resources’ authority to lease state boating facility lands for private management and operation, while carving out a specific framework for Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor. It also repeals an older Ala Wai leasing provision and creates a new, time-limited lease authority that is exempt from certain notice and legislative authorization requirements in the land leasing statutes. The bill further requires DLNR to carry out a public-access and shoreline-improvement project at designated Ala Wai areas and preserves civil service protections for affected Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation employees whose functions are replaced.
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text and voting history is strongly supportive. The measure advanced unanimously or near-unanimously through Senate Water, Land, and Agriculture, Senate Ways and Means, and the conference committees, indicating broad agreement on the need to address harbor management, deferred maintenance, and public access improvements. The bill’s findings frame the proposal as a practical response to underfunding and staffing constraints, while also presenting private management as a way to improve conditions and free state resources for ocean recreation oversight.
The main policy tension in the bill is between privatizing management of part of Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor and preserving public access, parking, and the public workforce. Supporters emphasize deferred maintenance, operational strain, and the potential benefits of a public-private partnership, citing Kewalo Basin as a model. Potential concerns are implied around leasing public harbor lands, exempting the lease from some statutory notice and legislative authorization requirements, and ensuring that shoreline access, parking, and multimodal circulation are not diminished. The bill addresses labor concerns by requiring retention and reassignment of civil service employees, suggesting that workforce protection was an important issue in the negotiations.