HB 664 Summary

• Establishes a five-year pilot community conservation program within the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement, Maui district office to educate ocean users on marine resource protection laws.

• Authorizes hiring up to ten full-time equivalent positions including conservation resource enforcement officers, an education specialist, accountant, research statistician, and administrative support staff to manage the program in the Haiku and Kaupo areas of Maui.

• Program activities include training volunteers in resource protection laws, conducting education and outreach to ocean users, coordinating with community-based "makai watch" programs, enforcing natural resource laws, and identifying new rules for long-term sustainability of marine resources.

• Appropriates unspecified general revenue funds for fiscal years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 to support program operations and staff hiring.

• Requires the department to submit progress reports to the legislature prior to regular sessions from 2011 through 2014, detailing enforcement actions, communities served, volunteers trained, and funding details; pilot program repeals June 30, 2014.