HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0279.086 2022-2024 P/council
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From: Bill Bugbee
Sent: Tuesday,June 20, 2023 9:11 AM
To: Council Testimony
Cc: Inaba, Holeka; Kimball, Heather
Subject: Testimony in favor of Bill 48 W "'
CD C >K
Subject:Testimony in support of Hawaii County Bill 48
Tuesday,June 20, 2023 _9
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Honorable Members of the Hawaii County Council,
I am writing in support of Bill 48,which if passed, will create an Office of Sustainability,Climate, Equity, and Resilience
(OSCER)within Hawaii County.
The creation of an Office of Sustainability is designed to fulfill a critical County mission and represents the
acknowledgment of the need for governance and leadership in a most critical area and on behalf of County residents
and taxpayers;something presently missing from the County charter.
Bill 48 further represents a critical step forward for Hawaii County toward addressing critical global climate challenges
with direct and local impacts on the County's future— these same impacts increasingly weigh on the social, economic,
and environmental fabric which maintains Hawaii Island's careful balance between livability and sustainability.
Scientific evidence has concluded in just the past seven decades humans have brought about greater changes to the
planet than they did in more than seven millennia. Never in Earth's history has the world changed this much, and this
fast. Past assumptions governing climate and the environment increasingly no longer apply or are inadequate.
Currently,the County's overall preparedness ahead of a changing climate, notated increasingly by adverse weather
remains incomplete. Never has a single species had the capacity to wreak so much damage— or the chance to prevent
and protect against so much harm.
Bill 48 may not automatically fix endemic issues addressing the overarching issue of sustainability, but it will create a
one-stop department within County government designed to address the scope and challenges before us (and
hopefully) provide greater accountability to what is today an area of responsibility fragmentation in both administrative
responses and incomplete policies with overlapping governance across different department silos with limited
responsibility and effectiveness.
Finally,the creation of OSCER represents an opportunity to serve as a catalyst for positive changes, enabling the County
to achieve greater efficiency in its decision-making processes, and in its administration on matters which will address
environmental, economic, and overall social well-being.
Bill Bugbee 21 q• s�Q
Comm. No.
Ref.To: QI coo(Al
1 Ref. Date "JUN 2 1 2023
bbugbee@beyondkona.com
808.339.7593
Kailua-Kona, 96740
District 8
2