§171-59 Disposition by negotiation. (a) A lease of public land may be disposed of through negotiation upon a finding by the board of land and natural resources that the public interest demands it. Where the public land is being sought under this section by a sugar or pineapple company, and the company is the owner or operator of a mill or cannery, then, for the purposes of this section, the economic unit shall be that acreage of public land which when taken together with the lands already owned or controlled or available to the company, when cultivated is found by the board to be necessary for the company's optimum mill or cannery operation. In all other cases, public land to be sold under this section shall be an economic unit as provided in section 171-33(3).
After a determination is made to negotiate the disposition of a lease, the board shall:
If only one applicant meets the criteria for selection of the lessee, the board may, after notice as provided in (3), above, dispose of the lease by negotiation.
If two or more applicants meet the criteria for the selection of the lessee, the board shall select the lessee who submits the highest offer contained in a sealed bid deposited with the board.
(b) [Repeal and reenactment on June 30, 2029. L 2024, c 114, §5.] Disposition of public lands for uses related to airline, aircraft, and airport-related operations; agricultural processing; cattle feed production; aquaculture; commercial use on parcels of up to five acres; industrial use on parcels of up to five acres; and marine, maritime, and maritime-related operations may be negotiated without regard to the limitations set forth in subsection (a) and section 171-16(c); provided that:
For the purposes of this subsection:
"Agricultural processing" means the processing of agricultural products, including dairying, grown, raised, or produced in Hawaii.
"Airport-related" means a purpose or activity that requires air transportation to achieve that purpose or activity; or an activity that generates revenue for the airport system as provided in section 261-7.
"Aquaculture" means the propagation, cultivation, or farming of aquatic plants and animals in controlled or selected environments for research, commercial, or stocking purposes, including aquaponics or any growing of plants or animals with aquaculture effluents.
"Maritime-related" means a purpose or activity that requires and is directly related to the loading, off-loading, storage, or distribution of goods and services of the maritime industry. [L 1962, c 32, pt of §2; Supp, §103A-56; am L 1967, c 189, §6; HRS §171-59; am L 1970, c 101, §2; am L 1980, c 48, §1; am L 1984, c 278, §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1992, c 283, §2; am L 2001, c 77, §2; am L 2003, c 127, §2; am L 2008, c 200, §2; am L 2011, c 232, §2; am L 2012, c 47, §2; am L 2024, c 114, §2; am L 2025, c 236, §17]