(a) There is established within the department a commission on water resource management consisting of seven members which shall have exclusive jurisdiction and final authority in all matters relating to implementation and administration of the state water code, except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter.
Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
Person: means any and all persons, natural or artificial, including an individual, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, company, the United States of America, the State of Hawaii, and all political subdivisions, municipalities, and public agencies thereof. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 174C-3
(b) Five members shall be appointed by the governor subject to confirmation by the senate in the manner prescribed in subsection (d). Each member shall have substantial experience in the area of water resource management; provided that at least one member shall have substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian water resource management techniques and in traditional Hawaiian riparian usage such as those preserved by § 174C-101. The chairperson of the board of land and natural resources shall be the chairperson of the commission. The director of health or the director’s designee shall serve as an ex officio[,] voting member.(c) The members of the commission shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, necessary for the performance of their duties.(d) In appointing a member to the commission, the governor shall select from a list submitted by a nominating committee. The nominating committee shall be composed of four individuals chosen as follows: two persons appointed by the governor; one person appointed by the president of the senate; and one person appointed by the speaker of the house. The committee shall solicit applications and send to the governor the names of at least three individuals for each open position.(e) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the commission shall be subject to sections 26-34, 26-35, and 26-36.
