After taking off in the state Senate, a bill to establish a state commission on surfing, SB 1459, has been riding through the Legislature and scheduled for a third reading and vote by the House of Representatives today.

If the House passes the measure, the initial Senate committee that heard the bill will then have the option of agreeing with changes added by the House or disagreeing and referring the bill to conference committee for further discussion, said Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, the author and introducer of SB 1459.

One change added gives the World Surf League a representative on the commission.

Noting that WSL, while it staffs a Hawaii regional office, is based in California, Dela Cruz said, “It defeats the purpose of what we’re trying to accomplish if we’re putting entities on the board whose headquarters are not located here.”

SB 1459’s stated purpose is “to provide for a statewide program to promote surfing and educate people throughout the State, as well as a broader international audience, about surfing’s unique connection to Hawaii.”

Noting the sport’s growing global popularity and its upcoming Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2020, the bill seeks to clearly brand Hawaii as the birthplace of surfing and communicate its historical and cultural significance in the islands, where an estimated 704,000 people surf each year. In 1998 surfing became the official state individual sport (outrigger canoe paddling is the official state team sport).

But while residents take pride in surfing’s Hawaii origins and the skill of local surfers, the rest of the world lacks sufficient understanding of the islands’ ownership of the sport, Dela Cruz said.

“I want to perpetuate and protect Hawaii’s culture,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that were known to be authentic in Hawaii that were commercialized in other places, so many things Hawaii has lost control of.”

The bill envisions 17 voting members. They would include five state officers; nine gubernatorial appointees — including at least one each from Maui, Kauai and Hawaii counties and four from the community at large, two of whom would be chosen from surf experts in the Hawaiian community on a list provided by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs — and three individuals chosen, one each, by the amateur Hawaii Surfing Association, the Hawaii Lifeguard Association and the World Surf League, which promotes professional surfing contests in Hawaii and worldwide.

Of the three organizations, only the Hawaii Surfing Association was included in Dela Cruz’s original bill. WSL was added after the initial hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy, Economic Development and Tourism. After a hearing before the Senate Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Dela Cruz, WSL was removed and replaced by the Hawaii Lifeguard Association.

But after the next hearing, before the House Labor and Public Employment Committee, WSL was reinserted “at the request of Senate colleagues,” said Rep. Aaron Ling Johansen, committee chairman.

“It makes sense to have pro as well as amateur surfers have a voice on this commission,” Johansen added.

But professional sports promoters could pose conflicts, said Alan Taniguchi, executive officer of the professional and vocational licensing division of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, which oversees the Hawaii state Boxing Commission.

“I would use caution because if they’re a promoter, they also have a financial interest,” Taniguchi said, noting that for this reason the boxing commission does not allow active promoters to be members.

Brian Keaulana, a Makaha surfer, former City and County of Honolulu lifeguard and son of legendary waterman Buffalo Keaulana, had similar concerns.

He contrasted WSL’s promotion of international professional surfing contests with the Buffalo’s Big Board Surfing Classic, which offers open entry to the public to compete in a variety of events including board, canoe and body surfing, that his family has organized at Makaha Beach for 43 years.

“We do it to promote ohana values and togetherness,” he said. “Before organizing an event, we talk with everybody who lives here and uses the area. We’re not trying to organize it from a base far away.”

However, he added, “I don’t want to say no WSL, because we want to hear all voices and points of view.”

Jodi Wilmott, WSL general manager for the Hawaii/ Tahiti Nui region, in written testimony in support of the bill, listed the opportunities and experience WSL could bring to the table, including its globally broadcast international events that feature Hawaii destinations and Hawaii surfers, and establishing career paths for Hawaii surfers.

Overall, in addition to WSL, Surfrider Foundation, OHA, Oahu County Democrats and three individuals submitted written testimony in support of creating a state surfing commission.