Bill would include nonprofits in sustainability planning
Sharon Y. Moriwaki, associate director of the Social Sciences Public Policy Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa has written HANO, asking for support to move sustainability efforts to the next level in Hawaii.
The last session the Legislature passed and Governor Abercrombie signed, SB 283, which became Act 181 of 2011. It codified the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan definitions, goals and guidelines and directed the UH Social Sciences Public Policy Center, in consultation with the State Office of Planning, to identify the stateʻs progress in implementing the sustainability guidelines and submit recommendations for full implementation. For more details on the study and recommendations, click hereto view the center’s Act 181 Report.
This year, Rep. Jerry Chang has introduced H.B. 2671, relating to sustainability, which recommends that the Office of Planning convene a working group to establish a "Hawaii Statewide Sustainability Partnership" and provide funding to enable the OP to implement the recommendations. The bill was heard on Monday Jan. 30 by the House Committees on Water, Land & Ocean Resources, Energy & Environmental Protection, and Agriculture. The companion bill is S.B. 3059, introduced by Senator Gabbard but not yet scheduled for hearing.
The center’s recommendations are:
> Recommendation 1 -- Hawaii Statewide Sustainability Partnership: Convene a statewide network of state, county, private sector and community organizations that are recognized trailblazers in sustainability (e.g. Kauai Planning and Action Alliance, Kanu Hawaii, the Hawaii Green Growth Initiative and others); and establish an organization – The Hawaii State Wide Sustainability Partnership – to advance collaboration, action, and accountability to fully implement the Hawaii sustainability goals and principles.
> Recommendation 2 -- Hawaii Sustainability Indicators: Appropriate funds to the Office of Planning to support development of statewide sustainability measures of accountability, including benchmarks, indicators, data and data sources.
