Bay Council bill flawed

Editor:

House Bill 2441 and its companion, Senate Bill 2330, which are moving their way through the Legislature, were written to amend the Kaneohe Bay Regional Council. KBRC was set up by the Kaneohe Bay Master Plan to allow the communities surrounding and using the bay to give the state input (as it) creates new rules and/or amending current rules on use of the bay.

As described, the bill removes the superintendent of education from the council and no longer requires the council chairman to be a nongovernmental member, who may not serve more than two consecutive years. It requires quarterly master plan meetings and reports on council mission and function relevancy and need for change.

Since its creation, the rules governing the council have prohibited the chairman from being a “governmental employee” for the obvious reason that it would create a clear conflict of interest – for example, the head of the state Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) chairing the council that was created to provide community input and guidance for the rules that DOBOR is (supposed to) create and administer.

Bob Twogood
Twogood Kayaks
Kailua