Hawaiʻi State Legislature
In general, the state legislature’s role in the decision making process in H-3 was minimal. However, the legislature passed several laws that impacted how the various parties proceeded with construction or opposed the freeway. Individual legislators were also involved with oversight of the construction and some publicly supported or opposed the freeway.
In 1961, the legislature passed the state land use law, Chapter 205, Hawaii Revised Statutes. It categorized all land in the state into four categories: conservation, agricultural, rural, and urban. The law also established the Land Use Commission (LUC) to administer the law and to hear petitions for changes in boundaries. The LUC also makes decisions on special use permits in agricultural and rural districts.
The state legislature passed two significant laws that impacted construction of H-3: the Hawaiʻi Environmental Policy Act (HEPA), Chapter 343, Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes (HRS) and the Hawaiʻi Historic Preservation Law.
HEPA, enacted in 1974, was based on the federal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). It enumerates situations that trigger environmental reviews:
- Projects that propose the use of state or county lands or funds
- Land in the conservation district
- Land in the shoreline setback area
- Historic sites or districts,
- Land in Waikiki
- Proposed reclassification of conservation land
- Amendments to county general plans
- New or expanded helicopter facilities
- Proposal of a wastewater treatment unit, waste-to-energy facility, landfill, oil refinery, or power-generating facility
HRS Chapter 6E established the Historic Preservation Program in 1976. The program is responsible for conducting archaeological surveys, acquiring archaeological or cultural sites, preparation of the state historic preservation plan, and related activities.
On April 10-11, 1992, following Bishop Museum’s termination of whistleblower Barry Nakamura, the Senate committees on Culture, Arts and Historic Preservation; Housing and Hawaiian Programs; and Transportation and Intergovernmental Relations held joint public informational hearings on H-3 and in particular the location of the Kukui-o-Kane heiau. The Senate, especially Senator Eloise Tungpalan, was concerned about whether the existing review processes were sufficient to ensure the preservation of cultural sites. The committees heard testimony from the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Marion Kelly of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Ethnic Studies Department, former Bishop Museum researcher Barry Nakamura, Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi, the Council of Hawaiian Organizations, former Stop H-3 president Rick Ziegler, and numerous other individuals, most of whom were opposed to the routing of the freeway through the site of the heiau.
During the course of H-3’s construction, individual legislators advocated for or against the construction of H-3. One of the most vocal opponents of the freeway was Rep. Cynthia Thielen, who served as an attorney for Stop H-3 Association and Life of the Land. Bob Nakata, a founder of Stop H-3, resigned from the organization when he was elected to the House. He was later defeated by Reb Bellinger, an H-3 supporter. In the Senate, Norman Mizuguchi opposed H-3 and in 1979 he urged the Senate Transportation Committee to transfer H-3 funds to improve existing highways. In contrast, Senator Mary George expressed exasperation with the lawsuits and delaying tactics of H-3 opponents.