Gary Hooser, the director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control, has spoken out against the Public Land Development Corp.

Hooser, who is on unpaid leave while he campaigns for Kauai County Council, expressed his opposition at a Kauai public hearing on the corporation’s draft administrative rules and at a recent campaign fundraiser.

From Hooser:

That is a bad, onerous piece of legislation that has tremendous negative potential in my opinion, O.K.?

I spoke up against that. I’m hoping that the Kauai County Council will possibly step up in a leadership position and possibly ask the state to repeal that law.

But just because it’s a state law or a federal law, does not mean we give up our leadership potential here as council members or as community leaders.

Hooser, a former state senator, was also one of the few Abercrombie appointees to oppose efforts at the state Legislature last session to exempt state construction projects from environmental review.

*Update: The Hawaii County Council’s planning committee approved a resolution on Tuesday urging the Legislature to repeal the law that created the PLDC.