HomeMy WebLinkAboutComm No 0034.04 - Testimony - CA-17 - Disaster and Emergency fundFrom: Gail Jackson <billgail.hi@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 7, 2019 2:05 PM
To: Charter Commission
Subject: Oppose CA -17, Support CA -18.
Aloha Charter Members,
What about having a public meeting in Waimea?
I waved signs supporting the Land Fund during elections and testified by email.
I have voted 3 times for the 2% Land Fund.
Don't you think you should abide by the Hawaii Constitution?
The Court articulated a public trust framework for natural resource decisions both at the State and County level. The
Court clarified the constitutionally mandated "Public Trust Doctrine" imposes upon the Counties the stewardship
responsibility to "future generations" to conserve and protect Hawaiyi's natural beauty and all natural resources. On
this point, the Hawaiyi Constitution Section XI subsection 1 provides: "For the benefit of present and future
generations, the State and its political subdivisions shall conserve and protect Hawaiyi's natural beauty and all natural
resources, including land, water, air, minerals and energy sources, 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
State. All public natural resources are held in trust by the State for the benefit of all people." It is on the basis of this
constitutional "Public Trust" provision that decisions involving land and water must be guided by the "Precautionary
Principle" when we weigh our private wants against the ability of the environment to accommodate those wants. The
precautionary principle requires long-term vision and mandates that government entities favor caution and
conservation in any case in which information is uncertain. The burden of proving that the resource is adequate and that
its proposed use is consistent with the sustainable health of the ecosystem falls on the party proposing to use the
resource.
I agree withDebbie Hecht and the Sierra Club.
Sincerely,
William B Simonsma
Waikoloa, HI 96738
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Comm. No. 34.4