Maunakea management bill advances

A bicameral committee of legislators has approved a draft of a bill that would remove the University of Hawaii as the manager of the Maunakea summit area.

House Bill 2024, the measure intended to restructure management of Maunakea around a new state entity, unanimously passed conference committee Friday.

The committee approved minor changes to a draft of the bill introduced during a previous conference committee Tuesday. The current draft would fully remove UH as steward of the mountain after five years, at which point management will pass to the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, the entity created by the bill.

The bill also professes that astronomy is a priority of the state, with the amendments on Friday adding some clarifying language on how the Authority will carry out that state priority while maintaining a “mutual stewardship paradigm.”

In order to go before Gov. David Ige for signature into law, the bill must pass final reading next week by the full Legislature.