§107-10 Acquiring of real property; prior approval.
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§107-10 Acquiring of real property; prior approval. No real property or any right, title, or interest therein shall be acquired by agreement, purchase, gift, devise, eminent domain, or otherwise, for any purpose, by the State or any department, agency, board, commission, or officer thereof, without the prior approval of the attorney general as to form, exceptions, and reservations. As to property acquired by the University of Hawaii, the attorney general may delegate to the University general counsel the authority to approve as to form, exceptions, and reservations.
In cases involving acquisitions by the University of Hawaii of interests in real property that do not require legislative appropriations, the general counsel for the University of Hawaii may give approval as to form, exceptions, and reservations. [L 1959, c 135, §1; Supp, §7-43; HRS §107-10; am L 2001, c 243, §5]
Attorney General Opinions
The State already holds an inchoate right to land that may pass to it by erosion or sea level rise. Ripening of that inchoate right is not "acquiring" or "acquisition" of real property under this section, §26-7, or §171-30. Accordingly, the attorney general does not have to review the ownership change and does not have to review or approve "documents relating to" the ownership. Att. Gen. Op. 17-1.
Case Notes
Circuit court correctly determined that the State obtained an easement over and across seawall pursuant to the common law doctrine of implied dedication because this section and §§26-7, 171-30, 264-1(c)(1), and 520-7 do not "imperatively require" abrogation of common law implied dedication, nor do they evince an express legislative intent to do so. 140 H. 437, 403 P.3d 214 (2017).