Ige Calls For Reconsideration Of Water Bill

In a significant development, Hawaii’s governor has directly intervened in the legislative debate over a water rights bill.

On Thursday, Gov. David Ige sent a letter to leaders of the state Senate and House regarding House Bill 1326, which would extend water diversion rights for land company Alexander & Baldwin, other landowners, utility companies, small farmers and ranchers.

The bill is currently halted for this session, but Ige indicated that he wants lawmakers to take another look at it. He argues that House Draft 2 of the bill, which allows stream diversion for another seven years, is “fair and comprehensive.”

“Water is a critically important issue, and for this reason, there is a lot of emotion tied to decisions about water use,” Ige wrote. “However, it is clear that the law cannot be applied in a discriminatory fashion, that all water permittees and applicants must comply with the law and that the law cannot be specially enforced against some permittees and applicants but not others.”

Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/04/ige-calls-for-reconsideration-of-water-bill/