UH Board to Assess Draft of Activities Rules for Maunakea

The University of Hawaiʻi administration is asking the UH Board of Regents (BOR) to consider approving the latest draft of the proposed administrative rules that will govern public and commercial activities on UH-managed lands on Maunakea [Chapter 20-26, Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules], according to a July 12, 2019, UH press release.

The measure will be taken up at the BOR’s Aug. 22 meeting on the UH Mānoa campus. It was initially scheduled for the July 18 BOR meeting but has been rescheduled a month so the university can fully consider all written and oral submissions submitted during the June 2019 public hearings process.

The latest draft of the rules will be publicly posted at least six days prior to the August meeting, and members of the public will have the opportunity to provide written and in-person testimony.

The regents could approve the rules provided there are no substantial changes, request a third round of formal public hearings on new draft rules that are substantially different from the current draft or defer decision-making. If approved by the regents, the rules will proceed through the remainder of the administrative rules process to Gov. David Ige for final review and approval.

This is the latest step in the development of the Maunakea administrative rules. Following initial public outreach and consultations, the first round of four public hearings was held in September 2018 on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui and Oʻahu. A revised draft was prepared based on the comments and concerns received during those public hearings. That revised draft was then shared with stakeholder groups and the public during a three-month, informal outreach process that started in January 2019.

A second round of four public hearings was held in June 2019 on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui and Oʻahu. The latest draft will include revisions based on comments received during the second round of hearings.