The University of Hawaii’s administration asked the UH Board of Regents to consider approving the latest draft of proposed administrative rules that will govern public and commercial activities on UH-managed lands on Maunakea, according to an announcement Friday from UH.
The measure will be taken up during the board’s Aug. 22 meeting on the UH-Manoa campus.
It was initially scheduled for the July 18 board meeting but needed to be rescheduled to August “so the university can fully consider all written and oral submissions submitted during the June 2019 public hearings process,” according to UH.
The latest draft of the rules will be publicly posted at least six days prior to the August meeting. Members of the public will have the opportunity to provide written and in-person testimony.
The regents could approve the rules, provided there are no substantial changes, request a third round of formal public hearings on new draft rules that are substantially different from the current draft, or defer making a decision.
If approved, the rules will proceed through the remainder of the administrative rules process to Gov. David Ige for final review and approval.
This is the latest step in the development of the Maunakea administrative rules. Following initial public outreach and consultations, the first round of four public hearings was conducted in September 2018 on Hawaii Island, Maui and Oahu.
A revised draft was prepared based on the comments and concerns received during those public hearings. That revised draft was then shared with stakeholder groups and the public during a three-month, informal outreach process that started in January of this year.
A second round of four public hearings was conducted last month. The latest draft will include revisions based on comments received during the second round of hearings.