The Hawaii Boat Owners Association is for everyone who uses a boat in Hawaii. Whether you're a fisherman, sailor, motor or sail, part time or full time, please join your voice with the voice of Hawaii's boating community.
At the moment, the boating community, and the ocean recreation community, is fighting for its life and facing down the threat of some serious changes to the boating scene in Hawaii. This goes far beyond the fee increase proposal (13-234) which will more than double some boaters' rates.
In the background, their are corporate interests who would like to have your public harbors and ocean recreation facilities privatized, and in their hands, so that they can profit from them, to your exclusion, if necessary. Ed Underwood, of DOBOR, has been working furiously in the background trying to cut deals with salivating corporate suits, and Suzanne Case, the DLNR Chief, is hard at work, also in the background, petitioning our legislators to change laws to make it impossible for the public to oppose the leasing of boating related ocean recreation lands, SUBMERGED AND DRY.
If these laws are passed, this will set a dangerous precedent. It means that, in the future, the State could, with similar laws, hand off any marine environment public assets to a private, for-profit interest and essentially make these private property, enforceable with the full brunt of the law, whether it's SUBMERGED UNDERWATER, OR DRY LAND. Watch out for the so-called public-private partnership pitch. "Public-private partnership" is code for PRIVATIZATION of public ocean recreation lands, SUBMERGED AND DRY.
The precedent is dangerous. Allowing the leasing of submerged State of Hawaii lands would include all surf spots around the islands, all fishing spots, all anchorages, all boat ramps, etc. Even if you're a surfer at Ala Moana Bowls, Kaiser Rights, Kaiser Lefts, Paradise, Fours, Threes, Pipeline etc., that submerged land could, theoretically, all be leasable to private interests making your surf spot private property.
Another hypothetical: if you're a sailor and want to anchor off of the west side of Lanai, for example. If that land is leased to the owner of Lanai, for example, it could very well be kapu to all but a few chosen to anchor there.
State legislation and agency operatives are being driven by moneyed interests. Are we really willing to sell ourselves out?
Join the Hawaii Boat Owners Association now. Contact information:
Email: HiBoatOwners@gmail.com
Phone: 808.312.2249
Facebook: Facebook.com/HiBoatOwners
Here is a place where you can search for pending legislation, 2019. Use your "Find On this Page" search engine in your browser to look for key words like DLNR, Submerged Lands, etc. https://legiscan.com/HI/legislation/2019
Here are just three current legislation proposals, out of several, that may be of interest:
SB1258 (Intro)
Allows the Board of Land and Natural Resources (Board) to lease any existing state boating facility in its entirety, and fast lands and submerged lands within any existing state boating facility, by public auction, request for proposals, or direct ne...
[Detail][Text][Discuss
HB1032 (Intro)
Requires the Board of Land and Natural Resources to obtain prior authorization from the Legislature to lease any existing state boating facilities, fast lands, and submerged lands by public auction, request for proposals, or by direct negotiation for...
[Detail][Text][Discuss]
SB1257 (Intro)
Establishes that liveaboard fees for state small boat harbors shall be established by appraisal by a state-licensed appraiser approved by the Department of Land and Natural Resources and shall be set at fair market value. Clarifies fees charged for v...
[Detail][Text][Discuss]