Relating To Dam And Appurtenance Safety.
The bill proposes a multi-faceted approach to improve the safety of dams and appurtenances by establishing a dam and appurtenance improvement loan program, which enables homeowners and homeowner associations to access funds for planning, design, construction, and necessary improvements. Additionally, the legislation plans to create a revolving fund to support these initiatives and a grant program to assist owners in covering costs related to these improvements. By instituting such funding mechanisms, the bill aims to incentivize the maintenance and upgrading of high hazard and significant hazard dams to standards set forth by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
House Bill 750, introduced in the Thirty-Second Legislature of Hawaii, focuses on enhancing dam and appurtenance safety throughout the state. The bill recognizes the inadequacies in maintaining certain plantation era reservoirs, especially in Maui County, where the transition of lands from plantation owners to developers created private ownership of dams that lack proper oversight. This situation poses significant flooding risks during adverse weather conditions, leading to a call for legislative action to address these safety issues.
The bill also introduces a tax credit for qualifying expenditures related to these improvements, allowing taxpayers to offset some of their costs. However, as the program is rolled out, there may be concerns regarding the financial implications of the tax credit and whether it will effectively motivate homeowners to undertake necessary repairs. Debate may also arise about the adequacy of the funding allocated to the loan and grant programs, particularly in light of increasing extreme weather patterns, which could exacerbate flooding risks if not managed aggressively. As such, the overall efficacy of the bill will depend on its implementation and ongoing evaluation of its outcomes.