RELATING TO CIVIL SERVICE EXEMPT POSITIONS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES.

HB2325

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2325

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO CIVIL SERVICE EXEMPT POSITIONS WITHIN THE
DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION 1.
�
Section
6E-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

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"
�6E-3
�
Historic preservation program
.
�
There is established within the department a
division to administer a comprehensive historic preservation program, which
shall include but not be limited to the following:

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(1)
�
Development of an ongoing program of
historical, architectural, and archaeological research and development,
including surveys, excavations, scientific recording, interpretation, signage,
and publications on the State's historical and cultural resources;

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(2)
�
Acquisition
of historic or cultural properties, real or personal, in fee or in any lesser
interest, by gift, purchase, condemnation, devise, bequest, land exchange, or
other means; preservation, restoration, administration, or transference of the
property; and the charging of reasonable admissions to that property;

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(3)
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Development
of a statewide survey and inventory to identify and document historic
properties, aviation artifacts, and burial sites, including all those owned by
the State and the counties;

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(4)
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Preparation
of information for the Hawaii register of historic places and listing on the
national register of historic places;

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(5)
�
Preparation,
review, and revisions of a state historic preservation plan, including budget
requirements and land use recommendations;

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(6)
�
Application
for and receipt of gifts, grants, technical assistance, and other funding from
public and private sources for the purposes of this chapter;

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(7)
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Provision
of technical and financial assistance to the counties and public and private
agencies involved in historic preservation activities;

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(8)
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Coordination
of activities of the counties in accordance with the state plan for historic
preservation;

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(9)
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Stimulation
of public interest in historic preservation, including the development and
implementation of interpretive programs for historic properties listed on or
eligible for the Hawaii register of historic places;

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(10)
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Coordination
of the evaluation and management of burial sites as provided in section 6E-43;

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(11)
�
Acquisition
of burial sites in fee or in any lesser interest, by gift, purchase,
condemnation, devise, bequest, land exchange, or other means, to be held in
trust;

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(12)
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Submittal
of an annual report to the governor and legislature detailing the
accomplishments of the year, recommendations for changes in the state plan or
future programs relating to historic preservation, and an accounting of all
income, expenditures, and the fund balance of the Hawaii historic preservation
special fund;

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(13)
�
Regulation
of archaeological activities throughout the State;

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(14)
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Employment
of sufficient professional and technical staff for the purposes of this chapter
,

which shall be in accordance with chapter 76;
provided the state historic
preservation administrator, the assistant administrator, grants managers,
Hawaii and national register coordinators, preservation planners, Hawaii
cultural resource information system managers, intake specialists, librarians, archivists,
administrative specialists, archaeologists, architects, architectural
historians, branch chiefs, burial site specialists, cultural historians,
ethnographers, historians, historic preservation analysts, and geographic
information system technical assistants may be exempt from chapter 76;

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(15)
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The
charging of fees to be determined by the department that are proportional to
the nature and complexity of the projects or services provided, and adjusted
from time to time to ensure that the proceeds, together with all other fines,
income, and penalties collected under this chapter, do not surpass the annual
operating costs of the comprehensive historic preservation program;

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(16)
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Adoption
of rules in accordance with chapter 91, necessary to carry out the purposes of
this chapter; and

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(17)
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Development
and adoption, in consultation with the office of Hawaiian affairs native
historic preservation council, of rules governing permits for access by native
Hawaiians and Hawaiians to cultural, historic, and pre-contact sites and
monuments."

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SECTION
2.
�
Section
76-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read
as follows:

����
"(b)

The
civil service to which this chapter applies shall comprise all positions in the
State now existing or hereafter established and embrace all personal services
performed for the State, except the following:

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(1)
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Commissioned and enlisted personnel of
the Hawaii National Guard and positions in the Hawaii National Guard that are
required by state or federal laws or regulations or orders of the National
Guard to be filled from those commissioned or enlisted personnel;

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(2)
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Positions filled by persons employed by
contract where the director of human resources development has certified that
the service is special or unique or is essential to the public interest and
that, because of circumstances surrounding its fulfillment, personnel to
perform the service cannot be obtained through normal civil service recruitment
procedures.
�
Any contract may be for any
period not exceeding one year;

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(3)
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Positions that must be filled without
delay to comply with a court order or decree if the director determines that
recruitment through normal recruitment civil service procedures would result in
delay or noncompliance, such as the Felix-Cayetano consent decree;

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(4)
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Positions filled by the legislature or
by either house or any committee thereof;

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(5)
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Employees in the office of the governor
and office of the lieutenant governor, and household employees at Washington
Place;

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(6)
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Positions filled by popular vote;

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(7)
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Department heads, officers, and members
of any board, commission, or other state agency whose appointments are made by
the governor or are required by law to be confirmed by the senate;

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(8)
�
Judges, referees, receivers, masters,
jurors, notaries public, land court examiners, court commissioners, and
attorneys appointed by a state court for a special temporary service;

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(9)
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One bailiff for the chief justice of
the supreme court who shall have the powers and duties of a court officer and
bailiff under section 606-14; one secretary or clerk for each justice of the
supreme court, each judge of the intermediate appellate court, and each judge
of the circuit court; one secretary for the judicial council; one deputy
administrative director of the courts; three law clerks for the chief justice
of the supreme court, two law clerks for each associate justice of the supreme
court and each judge of the intermediate appellate court, one law clerk for
each judge of the circuit court, two additional law clerks for the civil
administrative judge of the circuit court of the first circuit, two additional
law clerks for the criminal administrative judge of the circuit court of the
first circuit, one additional law clerk for the senior judge of the family
court of the first circuit, two additional law clerks for the civil motions
judge of the circuit court of the first circuit, two additional law clerks for
the criminal motions judge of the circuit court of the first circuit, and two
law clerks for the administrative judge of the district court of the first
circuit; and one private secretary for the administrative director of the
courts, the deputy administrative director of the courts, each department head,
each deputy or first assistant, and each additional deputy, or assistant
deputy, or assistant defined in paragraph (16);

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(10)
�
First deputy and deputy attorneys
general, the administrative services manager of the department of the attorney
general, one secretary for the administrative services manager, an
administrator and any support staff for the criminal and juvenile justice resources
coordination functions, and law clerks;

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(11)

(A)
�
Teachers, principals, vice-principals,
complex area superintendents, deputy and assistant superintendents, other
certificated personnel, and no more than twenty noncertificated administrative,
professional, and technical personnel not engaged in instructional work;

���������
(B)
�
Effective July 1, 2003, teaching
assistants, educational assistants, bilingual or bicultural school-home
assistants, school psychologists, psychological examiners, speech pathologists,
athletic health care trainers, alternative school work study assistants,
alternative school educational or supportive services specialists, alternative
school project coordinators, and communications aides in the department of
education;

���������
(C)
�
The special assistant to the state
librarian and one secretary for the special assistant to the state librarian;
and

���������
(D)
�
Members of the faculty of the university
of Hawaii, including research workers, extension agents, personnel engaged in
instructional work, and administrative, professional, and technical personnel
of the university;

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(12)
�
Employees engaged in special, research,
or demonstration projects approved by the governor;

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(13)

(A)
�
Positions filled by inmates, patients
of state institutions, and persons with severe physical or mental disabilities
participating in the work experience training programs;

���������
(B)
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Positions filled with students in
accordance with guidelines for established state employment programs; and

���������
(C)
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Positions that provide work experience
training or temporary public service employment that are filled by persons
entering the workforce or persons transitioning into other careers under
programs such as the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as amended, or
the Senior Community Service Employment Program of the Employment and Training
Administration of the United States Department of Labor, or under other similar
state programs;

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(14)
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A custodian or guide at Iolani Palace,
the Royal Mausoleum, and Hulihee Palace;

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(15)
�
Positions filled by persons employed on
a fee, contract, or piecework basis, who may lawfully perform their duties
concurrently with their private business or profession or other private
employment and whose duties require only a portion of their time, if it is
impracticable to ascertain or anticipate the portion of time to be devoted to
the service of the State;

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(16)
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Positions of first deputies or first
assistants of each department head appointed under or in the manner provided in
section 6, article V, of the Hawaii State Constitution; three additional
deputies or assistants either in charge of the highways, harbors, and airports
divisions or other functions within the department of transportation as may be
assigned by the director of transportation, with the approval of the governor;
one additional deputy in the department of human services either in charge of
welfare or other functions within the department as may be assigned by the
director of human services; four additional deputies in the department of
health, each in charge of one of the following:
�
behavioral health, environmental health,
hospitals, and health resources administration, including other functions
within the department as may be assigned by the director of health, with the
approval of the governor; two additional deputies in charge of the law
enforcement programs, administration, or other functions within the department
of law enforcement as may be assigned by the director of law enforcement, with
the approval of the governor; three additional deputies each in charge of the
correctional institutions, rehabilitation services and programs, and administration
or other functions within the department of corrections and rehabilitation as
may be assigned by the director of corrections and rehabilitation, with the
approval of the governor; two administrative assistants to the state librarian;
and an administrative assistant to the superintendent of education;

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(17)
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Positions specifically exempted from
this part by any other law; provided that:

���������
(A)
�
Any exemption created after July 1,
2014, shall expire three years after its enactment unless affirmatively
extended by an act of the legislature; and

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(B)
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All of the positions defined by
paragraph (9) shall be included in the position classification plan;

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(18)
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Positions in the state foster
grandparent program and positions for temporary employment of senior citizens
in occupations in which there is a severe personnel shortage or in special
projects;

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(19)
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Household employees at the official
residence of the president of the university of Hawaii;

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(20)
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Employees in the department of
education engaged in the supervision of students during meal periods in the
distribution, collection, and counting of meal tickets, and in the cleaning of
classrooms after school hours on a less than half-time basis;

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(21)
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Employees hired under the tenant hire
program of the Hawaii public housing authority; provided that no more than
twenty-six per cent of the authority's workforce in any housing project
maintained or operated by the authority shall be hired under the tenant hire
program;

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(22)
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Positions of the federally funded
expanded food and nutrition program of the university of Hawaii that require
the hiring of nutrition program assistants who live in the areas they serve;

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(23)
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Positions filled by persons with severe
disabilities who are certified by the state vocational rehabilitation office
that they are able to perform safely the duties of the positions;

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(24)
�
The sheriff;

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(25)
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A gender and other fairness coordinator
hired by the judiciary;

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(26)
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Positions in the Hawaii National Guard
youth and adult education programs;

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(27)
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In the Hawaii state energy office in
the department of business, economic development, and tourism, all energy
program managers, energy program specialists, energy program assistants, and
energy analysts;

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(28)
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Administrative appeals hearing officers
in the department of human services;

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(29)
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In the Med-QUEST division of the
department of human services, the division administrator, finance officer,
health care services branch administrator, medical director, and clinical
standards administrator;

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(30)
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In the director's office of the
department of human services, the enterprise officer, information security and
privacy compliance officer, security and privacy compliance engineer, security
and privacy compliance analyst, information technology implementation manager,
assistant information technology implementation manager, resource manager,
community or project development director, policy director, special assistant
to the director, and limited English proficiency project manager or
coordinator;

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(31)
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The Alzheimer's disease and related
dementia services coordinator in the executive office on aging;

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(32)
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In the Hawaii emergency management
agency, the executive officer, public information officer, civil defense
administrative officer, branch chiefs, and emergency operations center state
warning point personnel; provided that for state warning point personnel, the
director shall determine that recruitment through normal civil service
recruitment procedures would result in delay or noncompliance;

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(33)
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The executive director and seven
full-time administrative positions of the school facilities authority;

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(34)
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Positions in the Mauna Kea stewardship
and oversight authority;

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(35)
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In the office of homeland security of
the department of law enforcement, the statewide interoperable communications
coordinator;

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(36)
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In the social services division of the
department of human services, the business technology analyst;

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(37)
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The executive director and staff of the
911 board;

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(38)
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The software developer supervisor and senior
software developers in the department of taxation;

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(39)
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In the department of law enforcement,
five Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.,
coordinator positions;

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(40)
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The state fire marshal and deputy state
fire marshal in the office of the state fire marshal;

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(41)
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The administrator for the law
enforcement standards board;

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(42)
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In the office of the director of
taxation, the data privacy officer and tax business analysts; [
and

�
[
](43)[
]
]
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All positions filled by the Hawaii tourism
authority within the department of business, economic development, and tourism[
.
]
;

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(44)
�
In the state historic preservation
division of the department of land and natural resources,
the state historic
preservation administrator, the assistant administrator, grants managers,
Hawaii and national register coordinators, preservation planners, Hawaii
cultural resource information system managers, intake specialists, librarians, archivists,
administrative specialists, archaeologists, architects, architectural
historians, branch chiefs, burial site specialists, cultural historians,
ethnographers, historians, historic preservation analysts, and geographic
information system technical assistants
; and

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(45)
�
In the commission on water resource
management of the department of land and natural resources, hydrologists and
hydrologic program managers.

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The
director shall determine the applicability of this section to specific
positions.

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Nothing
in this section shall be deemed to affect the civil service status of any
incumbent as it existed on July 1, 1955."

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SECTION
3.
�
Section 174C-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:

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"
�174C-5
�

General powers and duties.
�
The
general administration of the state water code shall rest with the commission
on water resource management.
�
In
addition to its other powers and duties, the commission:

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(1)
�
Shall
carry out topographic surveys, research, and investigations into all aspects of
water use and water quality;

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(2)
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Shall
designate water management areas for regulation under this chapter where the
commission, after the research and investigations mentioned in paragraph (1),
shall consult with the appropriate county council and county water agency, and
after public hearing and published notice, finds that the water resources of
the areas are being threatened by existing or proposed withdrawals of water;

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(3)
�
Shall
establish an instream use protection program designed to protect, enhance, and
reestablish, where practicable, beneficial instream uses of water in the State;

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(4)
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May
contract and cooperate with the various agencies of the federal government and
with state and local administrative and governmental agencies or private
persons;

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(5)
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May
enter, after obtaining the consent of the property owner, at all reasonable
times upon any property other than dwelling places for the purposes of
conducting investigations and studies or enforcing any of the provisions of
this code, being liable, however, for actual damage done.
�
If consent cannot be obtained, reasonable
notice shall be given prior to entry;

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(6)
�
Shall
cooperate with federal agencies, other state agencies, county or other local
governmental organizations, and all other public and private agencies created
for the purpose of utilizing and conserving the waters of the State, and assist
these organizations and agencies in coordinating the use of their facilities
and participate in the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and data with these
organizations and agencies.
�
For this
purpose the commission shall maintain an advisory staff of experts;

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(7)
�
Shall
prepare, publish, and issue printed pamphlets and bulletins as the commission
deems necessary for the dissemination of information to the public concerning
its activities;

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(8)
�
May
appoint and remove agents, including hearings officers and consultants,
necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter, who may be engaged by the
commission without regard to the requirements of chapter 76 and section 78-1;

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(9)
�
May
hire employees in accordance with chapter 76;
provided hydrologists and
hydrologic program managers may be exempt from chapter 76;

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(10)
�
May
acquire, lease, and dispose of real and personal property as may be necessary
in the performance of its functions, including the acquisition of real property
for the purpose of conserving and protecting water and water related resources
as provided in section 174C-14;

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(11)
�
Shall
identify, by continuing study, those areas of the State where salt water
intrusion is a threat to fresh water resources and report its findings to the
appropriate county mayor and council and the public;

���
(12)
�
Shall
provide coordination, cooperation, or approval necessary to the effectuation of
any plan or project of the federal government in connection with or concerning
the waters of the State.
�
The commission
shall approve or disapprove any federal plans or projects on behalf of the
State.
�
No other agency or department of
the State shall assume the duties delegated to the commission under this
paragraph; except that the department of health shall continue to exercise the
powers vested in it with respect to water quality, and except that the
department of business, economic development, and tourism shall continue to
carry out its duties and responsibilities under chapter 205A;

���
(13)
�
Shall
plan and coordinate programs for the development, conservation, protection,
control, and regulation of water resources, based upon the best available
information, and in cooperation with federal agencies, other state agencies,
county or other local governmental organizations, and other public and private
agencies created for the utilization and conservation of water;

���
(14)
�
Shall
catalog and maintain an inventory of all water uses and water resources; and

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(15)
�
Shall
determine appurtenant water rights, including but not
limited to the quantification of the amount of water and the specification of
the water course or the means of access and delivery entitled to by that right,

which determination shall be valid for purposes of this chapter.
"

����
SECTION
4.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION
5.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its
approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

BY REQUEST

Report Title:

DLNR; State Historic Preservation Division; Commission on
Water Resource Management; Civil Service; Exemptions

Description:

Exempts certain positions within the State Historic
Preservation Division and Commission on Water Resource Management within the
Department of Land and Natural Resources from the state civil service law.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.