For the second year in a row, the state Legislature is nearing the end of its lawmaking session without a clear vision of how to pay for protecting about 665 acres at Turtle Bay Resort from hotel and housing development.

A conference committee of state House and Senate leaders met briefly Wednesday to discuss a more than year-old tentative deal for the state to buy an easement for $48.5 million to perpetually preserve the property that includes oceanfront land fronting Kawela Bay on the North Shore.

Rep. Ryan Yamane, a committee co-chairman for the House, said he was waiting for guidance from House Finance Committee leadership because the Turtle Bay preservation bill, Senate Bill 284, will affect state finances.

Sen. Gilbert Kahele, the committee chairman for the Senate, said work was still progressing on a new draft of the bill.

On Tuesday, two nonprofit groups contributing money for the easement purchase raised objections over what they said is a new idea being floated to pay for the state’s $40 million share of the easement.

Under the current version of SB 284, the state would sell bonds to raise the $40 million, and then repay the bonds using about $3 million a year in savings from refinancing debt on the Hawai‘i Convention Center.

The new idea, according to the Trust for Public Land and the North Shore Community Land Trust, is to redirect money from the Legacy Land Conservation Program, a state program overseen by a commission that competitively awards nearly $4 million annually to land preservation proposals statewide.

Raiding the Legacy Land program to preserve Turtle Bay would come at a bigger loss to the environment because Legacy Land projects must provide other funds for at least 25 percent of a project’s cost.

"As much as we believe the Turtle Bay project is a good one, we can’t support raiding that fund," said Lea Hong, state director for the Trust for Public Land. "It’s kind of a ‘Sophie’s Choice’: You want to sacrifice your son or your daughter? We would have to withdraw our support for the project."

The nonprofit has committed to raising $3.5 million for the Turtle Bay easement purchase. The city is chipping in $5 million.

Hong, along with North Shore Community Land Trust Executive Director Doug Cole, delivered letters and emails to all conference committee members Tuesday, urging them not to support tapping Legacy Land funds to protect Turtle Bay.

"Essentially, the Legislature would set a dangerous precedent of ‘cutting in line,’ opening the door to behind-the-scenes and politicized power brokering and trading, rather than the current nonpartisan transparent and fair project selection criteria designed to fund the best projects that conserve significant natural, agricultural, or cultural resources," the email said.

The email also said Hong and Cole had a meeting with House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke on Friday where it was suggested that the nonprofits might apply each year for $1.5 million from Legacy Land to help the state pay off Turtle Bay easement debt. Hong and Cole said in the email that they could do that.

Sen. Laura Thielen, a conference committee co-chair, said angling for money to pay for things in bills is common at this stage of the legislative session. "Everyone’s looking for money for a variety of things," she said.

A similar thing happened last year with the Turtle Bay deal. Then-Gov. Neil Abercrombie included $40 million in his proposed budget in anticipation of reaching a tentative deal after making major headway in late 2013. A deal was reached in mid-April, but lawmakers had excluded the requested bonds from the state budget.

A last-minute plan was hatched to use savings from Convention Center debt payments, and it passed last year.

The author of the hastily arranged plan was then-Sen. David Ige, who replaced Abercrombie as governor.

Earlier this year, however, a legal review of last year’s law to finance the Turtle Bay easement showed that the bond sale had to be completed by June 30, which wasn’t possible.

So language was inserted into an existing bill in March to provide an extension, which opened up discussions about different ways to fund the purchase.

After Wednesday’s brief hearing, Cole said he believes key lawmakers will come up with a solution that everyone feels good about. "I’m encouraged," he said.

The committee is scheduled to resume discussions on Friday.