D.  Disposition to Government Agencies andPublic Utilities

 

§171-95  Disposition to governments,governmental agencies, public utilities, and renewable energy producers. (a)  Notwithstanding any limitations to the contrary, the board of land andnatural resources may, without public auction:

(1)  Sell public lands at such price and on such otherterms and conditions as the board may deem proper to governments, including theUnited States, city and county, counties, other governmental agenciesauthorized to hold lands in fee simple and public utilities;

(2)  Lease to the governments, agencies, publicutilities, and renewable energy producers public lands for terms up to, but notin excess of, sixty-five years at such rental and on such other terms and conditionsas the board may determine;

(3)  Grant licenses and easements to the governments,agencies, public utilities, and renewable energy producers on such terms andconditions as the board may determine for road, pipeline, utility,communication cable, and other rights-of-way;

(4)  Exchange public lands with the governments andagencies;

(5)  Execute quitclaim deeds to the governments andagencies, with or without consideration, releasing any claim to the propertyinvolved made upon disputed legal or equitable grounds, whenever the board inits discretion deems it beneficial to the State; and

(6)  Waive or modify building and other requirementsand conditions contained in deeds, patents, sales agreements, or leases held bythe governments and agencies whenever such waiver or modification is beneficialto the State.

(b)  In any disposition to public utilitiesunder this section:

(1)  The sale price or lease rental shall be no lessthan the value determined in accordance with section 171-17(b); provided that suchsale price or lease rental may be on a nominal basis, if the board finds thatsuch easement is required in connection with a government project;

(2)  The board shall provide that in case the landceases to be used at any future time for the use for which the disposition wasmade, the board shall have the right to repurchase the land at the originalsale price or fair market value, whichever is lower, and to purchaseimprovements thereon at the depreciated value or fair market value, whicheveris lower;

(3)  Disposition shall not be made to any publicutility if the utility has suitable lands of its own;

(4)  The disposition to public utilities shall besubject to disapproval by the legislature by two-thirds vote of either thesenate or the house of representatives or by majority vote of both, in anyregular or special session next following the date of the disposition; and

(5)  For the purposes of this section, the definitionof "public utility" as defined in section 269-1 is hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

(c)  For the purposes of this section,"renewable energy producer" means:

(1)  Any producer of electrical or thermal energyproduced by wind, solar energy, hydropower, landfill gas, waste-to-energy,ocean thermal energy conversion, cold seawater, wave energy, biomass, includingmunicipal solid waste, biofuels or fuels derived from organic sources, hydrogenfuels derived primarily from renewable energy, or fuel cells where the fuel isderived primarily from renewable sources that sell all of the net powerproduced from the demised premises to an electric utility company regulatedunder chapter 269 or that sells all of the thermal energy it produces tocustomers of district cooling systems; provided that up to twenty-five per centof the power produced by a renewable energy producer and sold to the utility orto district cooling system customers may be derived from fossil fuels; or

(2)  Any grower or producer of plant or animalmaterials used primarily for the production of biofuels or other fuels;provided that nothing herein is intended to prevent the waste product orbyproduct of the plant or animal material grown or produced for the productionof biofuel, other fuels, electrical energy, or thermal energy, from being usedfor other useful purposes. [L 1962, c 32, pt of §2; am L 1963, c 40, §§1, 2, 3;am L 1965, c 239, §35; Supp, §103A-90; HRS §171-95; am L 1983, c 179, §1; am L2002, c 102, §1; am L 2007, c 205, §5; am L 2008, c 90, §2]