{"id":166,"date":"2026-05-19T10:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T10:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=166"},"modified":"2026-05-19T10:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T10:36:16","slug":"bill-gives-maunakea-authority-more-time-to-take-over-management-of-summit-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=166","title":{"rendered":"Bill gives Maunakea authority more time to take over management of summit area"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A bill passed by the state Legislature earlier this month has implications for the future of Maunakea.<\/p>\n

Read more MLB roundup: Mets rally from 4 down to stun Yankees in extras, win series<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A bill passed by the state Legislature earlier this month has implications for the future of Maunakea.<\/p>\n

Introduced and supported by several Big Island lawmakers, House Bill 2592 amended and clarified the terms of the 2022 act that established the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, the recently formed state agency tasked with overseeing management of the summit area of the mountain beginning in June 2028.<\/p>\n

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Among several other changes, the bill pushes that date back to December 2029, providing an additional 18 months to prepare for the role, extra time which state Rep. David Tarnas of Kohala, who was one of the introducers of the bill, said he felt was necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gave them a very tall order when we formed the organization in its original statute, and I think we were a bit overly ambitious in our time frame, and so I think these additional months are really the minimum necessary for them to get the job done,\u201d Tarnas said.<\/p>\n

MKSOA was created after years of tension and conflict over Maunakea, specifically the summit region \u2014 which has significant cultural value for Native Hawaiians and scientific value for astronomers \u2014 with the goal of bringing stakeholders together to come up with a plan for overseeing the site. The agency will take over control from the University of Hawaii, which has been accused of years of previous mismanagement and environmental damage on the mountain.<\/p>\n

MKSOA board members discussed the bill at a meeting Thursday. Board Chair John Komeiji said he was grateful for the extra preparation time, as well as a provision that requires MKSOA to sign off on any land use permits for the site along with the Department of Land and Natural Resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s really important to us, because in addition to specifying how we manage the property, one of the issues is, you know, if there is any attempt for future development, what type of powers will we have as (MKSOA) to have input on what gets developed on that land?\u201d Komeiji told the Tribune Herald. \u201cSo, because the Legislature clarified what our relationship is \u2014 and it says we\u2019re the manager of the property \u2014 any attempt by anyone to get a conservation use permit would need our sign-on.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he also noted several changes that he said the board had not asked for, including language that gives MKSOA the power to extend existing observatory leases on the mountain prior to the transfer date.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Matthias Kusch of Hilo and Hamakua, the primary introducer of the bill, said he felt the lease extension addition was necessary to assuage concerns from the observatories about what could happen to their leases during the transition period.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super important that we create like a little backstop to say, \u2018hey you guys, we\u2019re working through this, we have set up this is authority to kind of bridge the gap between science and culture and address the things that were done poorly in the past and learn from those failures and, in meantime, hey observatories, we got your back.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tarnas, who noted several of the organizations running the observatories have headquarters in his district, also supported the inclusion of the lease extension authorization.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a very important thing, because these observatories are huge investments, and the people who are paying for upgrades for these facilities want to know that their investments will have sufficient time to be useful, so that they will agree to make those investments, and this provision will help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, as Komeiji pointed out, the decision to extend any leases is up to the MKSOA board.<\/p>\n

He said the board does not not currently have plans to extend any leases, and does not think it will be necessary before there is a formal process in place for how to deal with the leases going forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives us that tool in case we need it, but \u2026 it\u2019s not something that we\u2019re going to do,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to give it very careful consideration before we decide to extend any leases.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Dec. 1, 2029, is the new date for MKSOA to take over operations on the summit, the agency is still required to adopt a management plan by June 30, 2028. If this, or other deadlines are missed, management will revert back to UH \u2014 another new stipulation in HB 2592 that was added by the Senate.<\/p>\n

Kusch said he did not support this particular condition and is hopeful it will not be necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like from my perspective, UH, MKSOA, the observatories, the public, Native Hawaiians that I\u2019ve talked to who are engaged on this subject, everyone wants MKSOA to go forward to navigate this,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Komeiji said MKSOA is currently in the process of collecting community feedback for the management plan, completing an environmental impact statement, hiring staff and the many other administrative tasks they need to complete.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople forget that we\u2019re standing up a new state agency, which hasn\u2019t been done in 20 years, so we started with nothing \u2014 no employees, no processes, no procedures,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, we continue to build capacity in terms of employees, trying to build internal capacity, trying to figure out IT systems, everything you would do to basically start up a government agency.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Email Grace Inez Adams at grace.adams@hawaiitribune-herald.com.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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