Groups face off over automatic
permit-approval process

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By Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.com

The state Senate Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee is expected to vote Monday on a House bill that would repeal a 4-year-old state law granting automatic approval of government permits if the reviewing agency does not act on it within a specific time frame.

Legislature Directory Legislature Bills & Hawaii Revised Statutes

Environmentalists, Hawaii County and other proponents of House Bill 1029, HD1, say the current automatic permit-approval law -- enacted in 1998 as a pro-business measure -- is just not good policy.

"I think this law is rife with unintended consequences," said Kat Brady, assistant executive director of Life of the Land.

Jeff Mikulina, Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter president, told the panel yesterday that the automatic permit-approval process causes agencies to focus on developer applications instead of natural-resource needs.

The law also becomes problematic when state agencies are understaffed to process permit applications or when voting issues arise, critics said. One example cited is when the Hawaii Electric Light Co. wanted to expand its power plant at Keahole, Hawaii. The state Board of Land & Natural Resources voted 3-2 against the plan and took no further action. But since Land Board rules require four votes to approve or deny a permit, a state court ruled the permit was automatically granted because the time period to act on the application had passed. The project remains tied up in court.

"The problem arises when a matter is voted on and neither side receives a majority of the full membership," said Christopher Yuen, Hawaii County planning director. "Without automatic approval, it is clear that the permit has not yet been approved. With automatic approval, it has been argued that the permit is approved if the deadline for action passes after the inconclusive vote," Yuen said in written testimony supporting the bill.

But opponents to the bill, which was introduced by state Rep. Sol Kahoohalahala (D, Lanai-Molokai), say a repeal is unnecessary because the current law has been instrumental in reducing slow or uncertain time requirements for obtaining business permits, licenses or approvals.

The automatic permit-approval law was among the recommendations from the 1997 state Economic Revitalization Task Force to create a business-friendly environment. The 27-member task force considered several options to streamline Hawaii's permitting process, but in the end decided to implement a sweeping automatic approval law for all state and county permits, licenses and approvals.

The 1998 Legislature approved the law.

Yesterday, the city, the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Gentry Homes, Hawaii Business Roundtable, Campbell Estate and others opposed its repeal.

Steve Hoag, human resources director at Hawaii Reserves Inc. in Laie, said in written testimony, "At a time when our local economy is struggling, a bill that creates uncertainty and delay in the permit and approval process is a step backwards and adds yet another cost to the already high cost of doing business in the state."