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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBIL 024 Draft 01 2014-2016OFFICE INFORMATION ONLY Meeting: Agriculture, Water and Energy Sustainability Committee— February 17, 2015 Action: Withdrawn by introducer (Wille). Be: Bill 24; Comm. 1 l8 (2014-2016 term) COUNTY OF HAWAII Of 1,, STATE OF HAWAII BILL NO. 24 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 6 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2005 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY ADDING A NEW ARTICLE RELATING TO LICENSING AQUARIUM LIFE OPERATIONS FOR THE LONG-TERM WELLBEING OF THE COUNTY AND ITS INHABITANTS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Findings. Consistent with the Council's responsibilities and duties as set forth in: The Hawaii State Constitution, Article XI, Section 9 which provides; "Each person has the right to a clean and healthful environment, as defined by laws relating to environmental quality, including control of pollution and conservation, protection and enhancement of natural resources. Any person may enforce this right against any party, public or private, through appropriate legal proceedings, subject to reasonable limitations and regulation as provided by law;" and The Hawaii County Charter, Section 13-29, which provides: "For the benefit of present and future generations, the county shall conserve and protect Hawaii's natural beauty and all natural and cultural resources, including but not limited to land, water, air, minerals, energy sources, wahi pana, surf spots, historic sites, and historic structures, and shall promote the development and utilization of these resources in a manner consistent with their conservation and in furtherance of the self-sufficiency of the county. All public natural and cultural resources are held in trust by the county for the benefit of the people." The Council acknowledges and affirms that the regulation of aquarium life operations is necessary to protect health, life, and property and to preserve the order and security of the County and its inhabitants, and hereby establishes a policy that regulates aquarium life operations within the county. SECTION 2. Chapter 6 of the Hawaii County Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as amended), is amended by adding a new article to be appropriately designated and to read as follows: Article _. Aquarium Life Operations. Section 6-_. Definitions. (a) "Applicant" means a person applying for a license. (b) "Aquarium life" means any type of saltwater fish, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod, invertebrate, or other animal harvested for aquarium use from Hawaii's marine environment. (c) "Aquarium life operation" means the maintenance of an office, facility, vehicle, boat, equipment, or other business activity conducted by a person in the county for the following purposes: 1. To collect aquarium life; 2. To hold or ship aquarium life; or 3. To sell aquarium life. (d) "Aquarium use" means to hold aquarium life alive in a state of captivity as pets, or for public exhibition or display, or for sale for these purposes. The term 'aquarium use' shall not include the harvesting of marine life for human consumption or for sale for human consumption. (e) "Collect" or "collection" means to catch or take aquarium life. (f) "Director" means the director of finance. (g) "Effective date" means the date that the license is issued or renewed. (h) "Enforcement departments" means the department of police and the county animal control contractor. (i) "Financial interest" means an interest held by an individual, or the individual's spouse that is: 1. An ownership interest in a business; 2. A creditor interest in an insolvent business; 3. An employment, or prospective employment, for which negotiations have begun; 4. An ownership interest in real or personal property; 5. A loan or other debtor interest; or 6. A directorship or officership in a business. (j) "Harvest" or "harvesting" means to catch or take aquatic life from the marine environment. (k) "Operator" means a person engaged in aquarium life operations. (1) "Sell" means to transfer, prescribe, give, or deliver to another, or to leave, barter, or exchange with another, or to agree to do the same to another for consideration. Section 6-_. Exemptions. This chapter shall not apply to: (a) Persons who harvest aquatic life to be used for bait for fishing or for human consumption or for sale for human consumption; (b) Persons exercising those rights customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural, and religious purposes and possessed by ahupua'a tenants who are descendants of native Hawaiians who inhabited the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778, as protected by article XII, section 7, of the Hawaii State Constitution; or (c) Persons who specialize in the holding of aquarium life in a state of captivity within the county for education or scientific study and do not sell or distribute aquarium life for compensation. (d) Persons who specialize in the holding of aquarium life in a state of captivity within the county for aquaculture purposes and do not sell or distribute for compensation aquarium life born in or directly harvested from Hawaii's marine environment. Section 6- . License. It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct aquarium life operations in the County, unless licensed in accordance with this chapter to do so. 2 Section 6-_. License application. (a) Any person desiring to conduct an aquarium life operation in the County shall make an application in writing, verified under oath, to the County finance director, which shall set forth: (1) The business name, business physical and mailing address, and business telephone number of the applicant; (2) The names and addresses of the applicant and any other persons with a financial interest in the business; (3) The locations where the applicant's financial and other related transactions will take place by address and Tax Map Key and the County zoning for the location(s); (4) Any other information that may be required by rules adopted by the director to enforce the requirements of this chapter; (5) A $100 application fee; (6) State and federal tax clearance certificates; and (7) A statement that neither the applicant nor any person engaged in any aspect of the aquarium life operation has been convicted of any offense against the laws of the County or State involving cruelty to animals. (9) Any other information required by applicable rules. (b) An application shall be approved or denied within thirty business days from the date it is received. (c) An applicant or operator shall notify the director in writing of a change of any information required to be included in an application pursuant to subsection (a) within five calendar days of the change. (d) Violations of this chapter including violations of any laws of the County or State involving cruelty to animals, or the failure to comply with the reporting requirements of Section 6- , shall be grounds for denial of a license or the renewal of an existing license. If the director denies the license or renewal of an existing license, the director shall notify the applicant in writing setting forth the reasons for denial. If approved, the director shall issue the license or renew the license, with or without special conditions or requirements as may be appropriate, upon payment of any required fee. (e) The director shall, upon the issuance of a license, notify the enforcement departments of the newly granted or renewed license and its expiration date, for the purpose of providing an updated inventory of active licenses to those with citation authority as described in Section 6-_ Section 6- . Issuance of license. When the application, has been filed by the applicant and approved by the County finance director, the applicant shall pay the specified fee to the finance director, upon which the director shall issue or renew a license to conduct the described aquarium life operation for the term of one year. Section 6-_. Term of license. (a) Any license issued pursuant to this chapter shall expire, unless otherwise revoked or canceled, without notice to the operator one year after the effective date of the license. (b) The director may suspend, revoke, or deny renewal of any license issued pursuant to this chapter for failure to comply with the reporting requirements of Section 6-_ or of any rule, ordinance, or statute related to the conduct permitted under the license. 3 Section 6-_. Renewal of license. (a) A license may be renewed on or before its expiration date. (b) Applications for renewal shall be processed in accordance with section 6-44. Section 6-_. Nontransferability. Licenses issued under this article shall be nontransferable. Section 6-_. License fee. (a) The fee for a license to conduct an aquarium life operation for one year shall be $2000.00 and shall be paid in advance prior to the issuance of a license. (b) An additional license fee of $1,000 shall be paid for each of the following fish Z. comutus, F. longirostris, C. quadrimaculatus, A. achilles, and Butterfly fish. Section 6-_. Conditions of license. (a) All aquarium life operation licenses shall be subject to the following conditions which shall be written and placed upon the license: (1) Aquarium life shall not be treated in an inhumane manner. For the purposes of this section, inhumane treatment of aquarium life includes intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently handling aquarium life within the county in a manner that is likely to result in the injury or death to aquarium life in excess of a I% mortality rate. (2) No person shall be employed with the conduct of an aquarium life operation who has been convicted of any offense against the laws of the County or State involving cruelty to animals. (3) Any license issued under this article shall be displayed in a conspicuous place upon the property for which the license is issued. Section 6-_. Reporting required. (a) Each operator shall submit to the director two reports within the license term, the first report within one hundred eighty days of the license effective date and the second report within one hundred eighty days of the first report. Each report shall include two parts: (1) Collection summary for the reporting period. a. Total quantity of aquarium life collected, by species; b. Total quantity of aquarium life sold, by species; c. Total quantity of aquarium life that expired while in possession, by species; d. Number of collection trips; and e. Immediate destination of aquarium life collected. (2) Individual collection trip details. a. Date of collection; b. Species and quantity of aquatic life collected; c. Zone where collection occurred; and d. Collection method, including by hand, barrier net, scoop net, slurp device, and traps. (b) The director shall keep on file the submitted reports of a licensed operator and shall make the reports available to the council upon request. Section 6- . Enforcement and Inspection. 11 The chief of police, his/her deputy, any regular police officer or humane officer of the County have the authority to enforce this article and may during business hours enter any aquarium life operation for the purpose of inspecting the conditions therein. Section 6-_. Penalties. (a) Any person engaged in an aquarium operation without a license is punishable by a fine of $1,000. (b) Violation of one or more conditions of the license is punishable by a fine of not more than $500 for each incident. (c) The failure of a licensee to file a report in accordance with Section 6- — results in an immediate suspension of the license by the director until such time as the license is renewed. Section 6-_. Citation. (a) Police officers, humane officers, authorized law enforcement personnel, and other authorized enforcement department personnel may issue citations for violations of this chapter. Section 6-_. Revocation of license. (a) The County finance director may revoke any license issued under this article upon a proper showing made to him/her that any of the conditions of the license have been violated by its holder or any of his/her servants, agents or employees. (b) After a license has been issued as provided herein and if the County finance director finds that any false statement had been knowingly made in any application, he/she shall revoke such license. Section 6- Other requirements. Any and all other governmental approvals and licenses necessary to conduct aquarium life operations shall be secured by an operator. A granting of a license under this chapter shall not relieve the operator of the responsibility of complying with all applicable laws. SECTION 3. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. SECTION 4. This ordinance shall take effect on July 1, 2015. Hawaii Date of Introduction: Date of l st Reading: Date of 2 Reading: Effective Date: REFERENCE Comm. 118 INTRODUCED BY: COUNCIL M YYBER, COUNTY OF AWAI`I 5