House Standing Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection

Good morning. We are convening the Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection. Today is Tuesday, 03/24/2026. It's 9:00 AM, and we're in Conference Room 325. Just the usual reminders: if you're testifying via Zoom, if you lose connection, please try to come back on.

If you get completely disconnected, we, and the Internet shuts down for some reason, then we will potentially issue a new hearing notice and have a new hearing on another day. We ask that all folks who are testifying, please refrain from profanity and please engage civilly in these conversations. Today, we're gonna hear a number of resolutions, starting with HR 12, HCR 10, urging the city and county of Honolulu to establish a permanent landfill, host benefits program, and program advisory group.

We have testimony submitted in support by the Prince Kūhiō Hawaiian Civic Club, Mankakilo Kapolei Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board Number 34, Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, and one individual. So, those are all in support, and one individual in opposition.

We have nobody signed up to testify in person or on Zoom. Is there anyone who wishes to testify on this measure? Seeing none, we're gonna move on to the next measure because there's no one to ask questions of. The next measure is HCR 148, HCR 157. This is requesting the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to convene a demolition waste reduction working group.

And the first submitting testimony on this measure in support is Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition and Climate Protectors Hawaii, the Solid Waste Reduction Task Force of Hawaii Environmental Change Agents, the Energy Justice Network, and one individual in support. Again, there are no individuals or organizations signed up to testify in person or on Zoom. So, if is there anyone else wishing to testify on this measure? Seeing none, we're gonna move on. We're moving kind of rapidly.

So, moving on to HR 184, HCR 194, establishing the Joint Legislative Mattress Stewardship Program Design Working Group to study, evaluate, and make recommendations on the structure and implementation of a statewide mattress stewardship program. So, on 184 and 194, we have Department of Health, in support, in person.

Good morning, Chair Lowen, Co-Chair Perruso, committee members. My name is...on behalf of the Department of Health. The Department stands on its testimony in support of this resolution, and I'm available to answer any questions. Mahalo.

Thank you. We also have testimony in support from the Solid Waste Reduction Task Force of Hawaii, Environmental Change Agents, and one individual in support. Is there anyone else who wishes to submit testimony on this measure? Seeing none. We're going to move on.

To the next measure. This resolution requests the Department of Health to conduct a study on recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable labeling in the state to determine if the labeling is accurate and nondeceptive. So, on this measure, we have testimony from the Department of Health, with comments, on Zoom—or in person. Sorry.

Morning, again. I'm Glenn Hai with the Department. Department stands on its written testimony, providing comments, and we will answer any questions.

Could you elaborate a little bit on your comments, just for the public edification?

Basically, the, the breadth of this study is, is huge; it's massive. We had mentioned in our testimony that we have rules or regulations that already have labeling requirements for certain types of containers. We don't have the resources to enforce these regulations. And so, to perform a study of this magnitude, we would need additional resources to be able to provide.

Thank you so much. Next to testify—submitting testimony in support, my apologies, is Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition and Climate Protectors Hawaii. We also have comments from the Consumer Technology Association and one individual in support. Is there anyone else wishing to submit testimony on this measure? Seeing none. We're going to move on to the next measure.

HR 192, HCR 202, establishing the legislative task force on Hawaii's future energy pathways to examine strategies to maximize cost savings while minimizing risk to repairs over the next three decades and achieving the state's energy goals and producing affordable, reliable, resilient, and decarbonized energy. First to testify on this measure, we have DCCA, Michael Angelo in support in person.

Morning, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Michael Angelo, Executive Director, DCA. We stand on our written testimony providing support for this resolution. We'll be open for questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Next to testify, we have Hawaii State Energy Office with comments in person.

Morning, Chair, Vice Chair, Member of the Committee. Monique Zanfes on behalf of the Hawaii State Energy Office. We stand on our written comments, and available for questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Public Utilities Commission, Jon Itomura in support in person.

Morning, Chair, Vice Chair, Member of the Committee. Ashley Norman on behalf of PUC and Chair Itomura. We stand on our written testimony in support. Available for any questions. Mahalo.

Thank you. We also have Life of the Land, Henry Curtis with comments on Zoom. Not present. Also submitting testimony on this measure, Climate Protectors Hawaii, Imua Alliance, and Pacific Diesel Technologies LLC in support, and one individual in support. Is there anyone else who wishes to testify on this measure? Seeing none. Are there any questions?

Sorry. I'm running late today, so you guys are off the hook, I guess.

Oh, we have a minute.

No, no. Go ahead. Unless someone else has a question.

Do you have a question?

No.

Okay. Then we will move on. We're gonna move on to HR 193, HCR 203, requesting the Public Utilities Commission to provide a written status update on implementation of the Hawaii Electric Reliability Administrator. First to testify on this measure, we have the PUC with comments in person.

I'm actually on a HERA call right now, but great. Good morning, Chair Lowen, Vice Chair Perruso, Members of the House Committee on Energy Environment Protection. My name is Andrew Okabe. I'm an engineer for commission, a HERA engineer for commission.

I'm here on behalf of Chair Itomura and the commission. I stand on the commission's written testimony offering comments on HR 193, HCR 203 with request for amendments. Because, you know, we are implementing HERA as we speak and through the meeting I'm currently on. I'm available for any questions the committee may have at this time. Just call me up. Thank you.

Thank you. We have one additional individual submitting testimony in support. Is there anyone else wishing to submit testimony on this measure? Seeing none. Questions, Members, Chair? No questions.

We're gonna move on to HR 194, HCR 204, requesting the Public Utilities Commission to conduct a comprehensive analysis on the best best paths to maximize cost reductions and minimize financial risk to Hawaii residents while meeting state goals. First to testify on this measure, we have DCCA, Michael Angelo with comments in person.

Chair, Vice Chair, Committee Members. Stand on our testimony providing comments. Available for questions. Thank you.

Thank you. We also have testimony from the PUC. Comments.

Mahalo again, Chair, Vice Chair, Member of the Committee. Ashley Norman on behalf of the PUC. We stand on our written comments in support. Available for questions. Mahalo.

Thank you. Hawaii State Energy Office with comments in person.

Chair, Vice Chair, Member of the Committee. Monique Zanfes on behalf of the Hawaii State Energy Office. We stand on our written comments, and I'm available for questions. Thank you.

Thank you. We also have testimony from one individual with comments. Members, Chair, are there any questions?

Sure. I guess Energy Office. I mean, I'm not gonna belabor this point, but you guys continue to say in your testimony that you take issue with some of the language in the preamble and that there's only one unintentional syntax error in the analysis. And I'm just a little surprised by that given the, at this point, sort of extensive review that it's undergone, the many errors that have been confirmed.

Is there a question?

Yeah. What is your response to that? Do you continue to say there's only one error in the whole report?

So the way the errors have been characterized, I think you can separate them. There is the hydrogen, you know, the 500 million hydrogen amortization decision. We don't characterize that as an error. That was a, an amortization decision regarding the other error. I'm...

There were other errors identified. There were other, there were...

Those are the two that we've really been able to find in our spreadsheet.

Have you had chance to review to see the feedback from HNEI and HERA?

Yes. We have reviewed that.

I guess they would disagree. Okay. Alright. Thanks.

Any additional questions? Nope.

And we shall move on to the next measure, which is HR 196, HCR 206, requesting the Hawaii State Energy Office to convene a working group to study the potential impacts of large data centers on Hawaii's electric utilities, rate payers, natural resources, and climate goals. First to testify on this measure, we have the PUC with comments in person.

Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair, and Member of the Committee. I'm Jing Hao with Public Utilities Commission. We stand on our written testimony, and I'm available for any questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Hawaii State Energy Office with comments in person.

Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Chris Yunker for the Hawaii State Energy Office. We stand on our written testimony providing comments and are available for questions. Thank you.

And we have additional testimony from Climate Protectors Hawaii in support. Is there anyone else who wishes to testify on this measure, either in person or on Zoom? Seeing none. Members, any questions?

No.

No questions. We are going to move on to HR 197, HCR 207. And this is requesting the PUC to ensure that certain conditions are met before approving any infrastructure operations, maintenance, fuel, or other costs relating to supplying and using liquefied natural gas. First to testify on this measure, we have DCCA with comments in person.

Chair, Vice Chair, Committee Members. Stand on our testimony providing comments. Available for questions. Thank you.

Hawaii State Energy Office with comments in person.

Chair, Vice Chair, Member of the Committee. Monique Zanfes on behalf of Hawaii State Energy Office. We stand on our written comments. Available for questions. Thanks.

Thank you. PUC with comments in person.

Aloha again, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Ashley Norman on behalf of PUC. If you have any questions for us, we are available. We stand on our written testimony. Mahalo.

We also have Earthjustice, Harley Broyles on Zoom. Thank you for joining us.

Hi. Marti Townsend on behalf of Harley Broyles and Earthjustice. Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify. We do support the idea of having restraints and, you know, consideration given to the impacts of importing liquid natural gas. But as you can see in our written testimony, fundamentally, we shouldn't have to be wasting time going down this path. We know that it won't work for us.

As we've already alluded to, the studies that have been done so far are riddled with errors and are, you know, are not cannot be used as a basis for making an informed decision. And it's just really quite frustrating that we are being distracted from working on the real solutions that we all know that we need to get to in terms of clean energy. We are distracted working on liquid natural gas. It's really disappointing.

But thank you very much to the committee for considering this resolution, although we think it should be unnecessary because LNG should not be on the table at this point. Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify. I'm available for questions.

Thank you. We have additional testimony in support from Climate Protectors Hawaii, Imua Alliance, Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii. We also have testimony in opposition from JERA. They did not sign up to testify in person or on Zoom. We also have two individuals in support and two individuals in opposition. Is there anyone else who wishes to provide testimony on this measure? Any questions, Members? Do you have a question? Okay. We have time.

I guess for the PUC maybe.

I apologize. I was actually supposed to take that. I'm trying to pinch hit for, like, three people. I'm available.

I'm wondering, and this wasn't in testimony. But I'm just wondering if given recent statements that have been made, if there should additionally be a provision in here that the PUC should follow the same process that other energy projects are required to follow and not grant some different type of process outside of competitive bidding for any proposal that's put forth.

Okay. So let me quickly try to summarize what I think you're asking. I think what you're asking is that no waivers from the competitive bidding process that we have set up through our current set of competitive bidding, which we're now on phase, well, stage three and IGP RFP be granted. That's, I think, what you're asking.

I guess. I'm not sure. I just said that there was a state, there was a something, and I can't remember because there's been a lot of different coverage from this out there. But I did read somewhere a statement from JERA, I believe, saying that there might be some different process by which a proposal comes to the PUC.

Yep. Yes. So let me quickly highlight that potentiality. And I, you know, I don't want you to feel dismayed through this, but the utility always has option to provide a what's called a waiver project for commission's consideration.

And maybe that's the methodology that that Hawaiian Electric will eventually decide to use if they so choose. And they could, like I said, they could do it for any project. Fully renewable project. You know, we all love renewable projects. They could do that.

But for a lot of reasons, you know, the commission has been requesting, or maybe not requesting, demanding that the utility utilize a competitive bidding framework. But, you know, the utility could come in with the waiver, what we call waiver projects. It wouldn't circumvent any of the review commission has to do.

You know, we still have to review it. We have to look all the, look at all terms for the power purchase agreement that comes in. We still have to approve it before it can actually, you know, start being built and start being paid out, you know, per se.

No other process. It would be either the regular process or through a waiver?

Yeah. It would be either through the competitive bidding process or through a waiver process, but the same thing ends up happening is it comes before us. They would not be able, as far as I know, they wouldn't be able to skip us unless there's something potentially I'm missing.

What's the standard, I mean, for issuing a waiver compared to sort of the standard for regular consideration after the regular process?

I don't quite have those standards before me, but I believe it just is a request. They have to show that there's a need for the project, and they just put a request in. And whether or not the commission grants the waiver is...

You have to show some additional need for why it would be unable to compete that have been, you know, why they should be exempted from the same process that everybody else had to go through?

You are correct that they would have to provide some type of proof to commission. And I do have to double check just in case because I don't wanna give you the wrong information here because I know how critical, you know, this is to you and what this means to you. So I do request, like, give me about 24 hours to fully research this.

But the default answer is that, you know, we do, we do require the utility to give us at least some information justification why they're making a certain request, certain waiver request. And we could ultimately grant the waiver request and still need to roll, roll on the actual project itself.

We could also not grant the waiver request and tell them you have to have this competitively bid because that's the right, we could at the time say that's the right thing to do. I don't wanna prejudge, you know, what we would do or would not do. Again, I wanna be clear. We don't have a waiver project before us regarding a potential LNG project, I believe.

But I, you know, I wanna be clear with you what we do. So I'll get back to you within 24 hours. I apologize. I can't be fully authoritative on, not authoritative. Fully transparent with everything we do with you at this time, but I'm willing to take any other questions you may have.

Thank you. Consumer Advocate. I guess I'm just curious what you make of this, the way that all of this has been brought to us and discussed. I mean, it's a foregone conclusion that the one company proposing LNG, everybody already knows who it is. From a consumer protection standpoint, I mean, what do you make of that?

There's not, I mean, what I can say is we'll independently review anything that comes before the commission. The way that we would, just at a real high level, approach any requests is is it something that's gonna deliver electric services or utility services in general more safely, reliably, resiliently, cost effectively, affordably, equitably, and aligned with the...

But there was never any competitive bidding process for some kind of LNG proposal, and the ongoing conversations for the better part of two years almost have been solely with a single company. I mean, that outside of processes you participate in, I think, deserves scrutiny to begin with. But, I mean, from a customer protection standpoint, I mean, wouldn't competition be preferable to ensure that we're getting the best proposal as opposed to favoring one company?

I think, in general, competition generally results in better pricing. Our concern is always over pricing, and any anything that comes before the commission will have to be reviewed by both us and the commission. We just don't have anything at this point.

Yeah. And just to put a, you know, note on that, that's there is no proposal, despite what's been said. Right? There's no proposal filed with the PUC.

There is no proposal filed with the PUC.

Thank you. Oh, go ahead.

So just to follow-up, so your concern you said is primarily with pricing, but doesn't...

No. The five factors that I was...

I heard them. Yes. So but I what I didn't hear you mention was dependency. So...

So that's that's the state's clean energy goals. Right? Yeah. Those those are... Dependency on fossil fuels, is that? Sorry. Sorry.

Yeah. I'll finish.

Sorry. I apologize.

Sorry. Dependency on a singular corporation. I think it, I mean, it concerns me that you're not concerned about power imbalances. So is that something that you take into consideration in terms of protecting consumers?

So the question is if some, if an application was before us, if there was a single entity that was potentially had a large share of and the ability to regulate that, yes, that's definitely something that we would take into consideration. And I think we, this was before my time, but that was one of the factors that was considered in the NextEra merger.

Okay. Thank you so much. Okay. Any other questions? Seeing none. We're gonna move on to HR 191, HCR 302. Sorry. 201. My eyes. First, to testify, we have Climate Protectors... Oh, actually, we don't have any testimony in person or Zoom on this.

But we do have testimony submitted in support by Climate Protectors Hawaii, Imua Alliance, and three individuals in support. And is there anyone else who wishes to submit testimony on this measure? Earthjustice, would you want to submit testimony on this measure?

Yes. Please. We, please just accept our verbal testimony in support of this resolution. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Seeing no others, members, are there any questions? Seeing none, we're gonna move on to the next measure, which is HR 33 HCR 33, encouraging Hawaii County, in collaboration with the Puako community, Department of Health, and other stakeholders to complete the Puako Sewage Project. And on this measure, we have the University of Hawaii, in support, Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition, in support, and 31 individuals, in support. Seeing no one signed up to testify on Zoom or in person, is there anyone here who wishes to testify on this measure?

Seeing none, we're gonna move on to the next measure, as there is no one to ask questions of. The next measure is HR 141 HCR 149, urging the United States Navy to provide consistent, in-person participation at community representation initiative meetings related to Red Hill remediation efforts. On this measure, we have the Board of Water Supply, in support, in person.

Kathy Mitchell with the Board of Water Supply. We stand on our testimony in strong support of HR 141 and HCR 149.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We also have testimony in support from the Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition, the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, and the Sierra Club of Hawaii, along with the Shimanchu Wai Protectors, all in support. We also have testimony, 16 individuals in support, and one in opposition. Is there anyone who wishes to-- Earthjustice, did you wish to submit testimony?

Yeah, thank you. Marti Townsend, on behalf of Earthjustice, submitting testimony in support of requiring the Navy to meet with the community representation initiative. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Anyone else wishing to testify on this measure? Seeing none. Members, are there any questions? Seeing none, we're gonna move on to the last measure on our agenda. It's HR 190 HCR 200, urging the United States Department of Defense to reassess prior determinations and closure decisions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act in light of evolving scientific understanding of PFAS and recent federal hazardous substance designations.

And on this measure, we have testimony in support from the Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition, the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, the Sierra Club of Hawaii-- oh, Sierra Club of Hawaii should be here on Zoom. Not present. Shimanchu Wai Protectors, in support, and 15 individuals in support. Is there anyone-- Board of Water Supply.

Yes. Board of Water Supply. Kathy Mitchell with the Board of Water Supply. We're in strong support of HR 190 HCR 200, and-- sorry. We have late written testimony here. Give it to your committee clerk after the hearing.

Would you mind distributing it to the members at this point?

Sure.

Because we're gonna move into decision-making shortly. And-- we can pass it down. Thank you. While that's being distributed, is there anyone else who wishes to submit testimony on this measure? If not, do you want me to take a look at this testimony, folks, and see if you have any questions?

Thank you.

Sure. Okay. I guess Board of Water Supply. Can you just explain, I guess, to educate everyone here or who might be watching the current concerns with PFAS contamination on military lands beyond just the Red Hill sites?

In August 2023, a report of critical PFAS uses was published by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for energy installations environment. Basically, the Navy-- well, we have military bases, and the AmeriCorps did a study across the country and there are results that PFAS, from the military bases, were all positive.

And the CERCLA, which is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, closed the investigation after they-- based on-- no further actions were needed solely based on that AFFF uses and-- but there's more PFAS uses. So, the previous CERCLA investigations of the PFAS at all military installations shall be reopened and reassessed based on processes and materials listed in the August 2023.

This is critical in the restoration of our environment and natural resources so that our next generation may have a future and the opportunity to experience life without concerns of potential health effects.

Okay. All right. Thank you.

Thank you.

Can I ask a quick follow-up question? So we are experiencing some extreme flooding in my district. We're experiencing some extreme flooding in my district, out in Waialua and Mokuleia, and there have been concerns expressed about PFAS in the water that is, you know, moving towards the shoreline from the military lands above, and I'm wondering if you folks-- when there's a need for water testing in these kinds of disaster-related situations, what is the current status of doing that kind of water testing?

We do-- we sample our water, and we have found that we have PFAS, but low levels beyond the minimum level detection, which is four. So it's still low, but still may-- we do continue testing Board of Water Supply tests. Yeah.

Okay. Thank you so much.

Also, between Kahuku and Turtle Bay, we don't have pipelines up there.

Right. We're-- yeah. I'm talking about the other side, so that's fine. Thank you.

Thank you.

Members, any other questions?

Seeing none. I think we're gonna, if there are no objections, we're gonna move straight into decision making. Okay. So on HR 12, HCR 10. Chair's recommendation is to pass this out as is. Are there any questions or concerns? Seeing none. Chair for the vote.

Alright. We are voting on House Resolution 12 and House Concurrent Resolution 10. We'll take them together. Recommendation is to pass unamended. [Roll Call] Alright. Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you. On HR 148, HCR 157, recommendation is to pass as is. Any discussion? Seeing none. Ready for the vote.

Alright. We are voting on HR 148, HCR 157. Recommendation is to pass unamended. Noting Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan excused. Are there any noes or reservations? Seeing none. Recommendation adopted.

Thank you. On HR 184, HCR 194, recommendation is to pass as is. Any discussion? Seeing none. Ready for the vote.

Alright. HR 184 and HCR 194. This is the mattress stewardship working group. Recommendation is to pass unamended. Noting Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan excused. Any other noes or reservations? Seeing none. Recommendation is adopted.

Thank you. On HR 195, HCR 205. Same recommendation. We're gonna pass this out as is. Any discussion? Seeing none. Do you have recommendation?

Oh, nope. Sorry. I just spoke too soon. Alright. We are voting on HR 195, HCR 205. This is the study on labeling of recyclables and compostables. Noting Reps... Recommendation is to pass unamended. Noting Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan excused. Any other noes or reservations? Seeing none. Recommendation adopted.

Thank you. On HR 192 HCR 202, we're gonna amend this just to add to the membership list independent renewable energy developers, representatives from environmental advocacy groups, and community groups. Any discussion, members? Seeing none, Chair for the vote.

Thanks. We are voting on HR 192 HCR 202. This is a Legislative Task Force to look at future energy pathways more broadly, and currently has been done. Noting Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan excused. Any noes or reservations? Seeing none, recommendation adopted.

Thank you. On HR 193, HCR 203, we're gonna take the PUC suggested amendments to require a single update to the legislature 20 days prior to the 2027 session. Any discussion? Seeing none. Chair for the vote.

Alright. We are voting on HR 193, HCR 203, recommendation to pass with amendments. Noting Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan excused. Any noes or reservations? Seeing none. Recommendation is adopted.

On HR 194 HCR 204, Chair's recommendation is to pass this out as is. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, ready for it.

All right. We are voting on HR 194 HCR 204. Recommendation is to pass unamended. Noting Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan excused, any noes or reservations? Seeing none, recommendation is adopted.

Thank you.

On HR 196, HCR 206, we're gonna amend this to have the PUC lead the working group. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Okay. So we're gonna actually recommend the passage with no amendment, passing out as is. And is there any discussion? Seeing none. Chair for the vote.

Alright. Apologies. Recess.

Gaveling back in.

Okay. So, on this one, we're going to leave it with the Energy Office, but we are adding a Be It Resolved clause that would convene a working group to study potential impacts of large data centers requiring electricity of 5 megawatts or higher in instantaneous demand on Hawaii's electric utilities ratepayers, natural resources, and climate goals. So that will just clarify what we mean when we say a large data center. And that is all.

Very good. Thank you. Any further discussion? Seeing none, Chair for the vote.

Thank you. All right. HR 196 HCR 206.

With amendments.

Recommendation: do pass with amendments.

Noting Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan excused. Any noes or reservations? Seeing none. Recommendation adopted.

Thank you. HR 197, 207. Recommendation is to pass as is. Is there any discussion? Seeing none. Chair for the vote.

Alright. HR 197, HCR 207. Recommendation to pass unamended. Noting Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan excused. Are there any noes or reservations? Alright. Seeing none. Recommendation adoption.

Thank you. And on HR 191, HCR 201, same recommendation to pass out as is. Any discussion? Seeing none. Chair for the vote.

Alright. HR 191, HCR 201, recommendation to pass unamended. Noting Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan excused. Any noes or reservations? Seeing none. Recommendation adopted.

Thank you. On HR 33 / HCR 33, same recommendation. We're passing this out as is. Any discussion? Seeing none, Chair for the vote.

HR 33 / HCR 33--same number--we are passing this unamended. Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan excused. Any noes or reservations? Seeing none, recommendation adopted.

Thank you. HR 141, HCR 149, same recommendation. We're passing this out as is. Any discussion? Seeing none. Chair for the vote.

HR 141, HCR 149. Recommendation to pass unamended. Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan are excused. Are there any noes or reservations? Seeing none. Recommendation adopted.

Thank you. And now on our last measure, HR 190 / HCR 200, recommendation is to pass out as is. Any discussion? Seeing none, Chair for the vote.

HR 190 / HCR 200: recommendation to pass unamended. Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan are excused. Are there any noes or reservations? Seeing none, recommendation is adopted.

Thank you. We are adjourned.

Alright. Hello, everyone. We are here for a hearing of the Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection, Tuesday, March 24, 10am, Room 325. We have three bills on the agenda this morning. We will get, jump right in. So Senate Bill 3253, relating to conservation. This establishes the Hawaii Conservation Sanctuary. And first up to testify, we have DLNR.

Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair. Kathryn Stanaway at DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife. We stand on our written testimony and are available for questions.

Thank you. And then Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition in support. That's all the testimony that we have. Is there anyone else here to testify on this measure in person or on Zoom? If not, quick question for DLNR. I wasn't, I wasn't, I mean, I wasn't aware that we could just create a nonprofit via statute. What is that? How does that work? And is it a state entity or a private entity?

We, DLNR, this isn't a DLNR bill. So but we support the concept of it. So I'm not clear on the authority to create a nonprofit via statute. But again, we support the conservation work that they would help us with. Yeah.

Okay. Alright. Thanks. Alright. Members, any questions?

All right. And seeing none, we will move on. Senate Bill 3154, relating to transportation environmental review. Department of Transportation, first up on Zoom, or in person. Hi.

Chair, Vice Chair, Tammy Lee, on behalf of the Department of Transportation. We stand in strong support of this measure. Thank you very much.

Thank you. We have Land Use Research Foundation, in support, Dana Keawe, in opposition, and Gregory Misakian on Zoom. Not present. In opposition. That's all the testimony we have.

Is there anyone else here to testify on this measure? If not, members, questions? If not, we'll move on to the last bill on this agenda, Senate Bill 3254, relating to the state budget. Dangerous bill title. First step to testify on this, we have the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair. Leah Laramee with Climate Change Mitigation Adaptation Commission. We stand on our testimony in support and available for questions. Mahalo.

Thank you. Let's see. We have County of Maui, Chair Alice Lee in support, Climate Protectors Hawaii in support, 350 Hawaii in support, Clean the Pacific in support, Kauai Climate Action Coalition in support, Green Party of Hawaii in support, Collective Energy with comments. We have AlohaCare. Aloha.

Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair. Maria Rallyohai with AlohaCare. We stand on our written testimony in support. We also want to acknowledge that our requested amendments in our testimony have already been adopted by the previous committees, so we apologize that it doesn't reflect in our testimony, but thank you so much for allowing us to testify.

Yeah, testimony does have to get resubmitted for each hearing. And we have Molokai Ohana Health Care or Molokai Community Health Center in support, Hawaii Primary Care Association in support, Waimanalo Health Center in support, Wahiawa Health Center in support, Hawaii Island Community Health Center in support, Greenpeace Hawaii on Zoom--not present--in support. And then we have-- looks like about 25 additional individuals in support and one with comments. Is there anyone else here to testify on this measure? Please come forward.

Good morning, Chair and Vice Chair. My name is Emily Chung. I'm with the Hawaii Primary Care Association. We did submit testimony in support, so we do stand by that, and our health centers right now are being-- cleaning up and assessing the impacts after the heartbreaking storms that we just had.

So I wanted to just reiterate that a project like this for sustainability could have prevented the loss of certain resources that our health centers lost, such as vaccinations due to power outages. I also wanna respectfully add one more item for clarification and I raise this in the spirit of collaboration in hope that we can be supportive in how we can move this forward.

In the last hearing, there was a reference to possible use of Rural Health Transformation Funds, and we would be supportive of that if that is an option, but we also understand there might be-- those funds might already be allocated or identified for other resources, so we wanna make sure that however we proceed that we have options that could keep this project moving forward. So we thank the committee and the Legislature for being open to ideas for how we can make this happen. Thank you so much.

All right. Is there anyone else here to testify? Please come forward.

Aloha, Chair. Aloha, Vice Chair. Cindy Khan, Director of Programs and Strategic Partnerships for Collective Energy. I submitted comments, and here to provide answers on any technical, financial, and implementation.

Great. Thank you. Is there anyone else that we missed? If not, members, questions. I have a quick question for one of you two, I guess. My understanding-- I mean, it's a little unusual to come to the state for this, to have a bill for what essentially would normally be a grant-in-aid, but my understanding is the concern is making sure this moves forward in time to be able to draw down the federal tax credit before it expires. Is that correct?

Yes. There is a integration and collaboration of using different funding sources, and we hope that this helps advance the projects so we can use the safe-harbored federal tax credits.

And then, do you also have a grant-in-aid application submitted?

Yes. We have a operational GIA application for 196,000 and then the capital GIA for the 2.5 million.

Okay. Okay, great. All right. That's all. Thanks. Any other questions, members? All right. If not, we're gonna recess right now. We're gonna come back for decision-making. We're gonna do the 11:00 a.m. decision-making agenda we have and then we'll do DM on these three bills, but the intention is to move them all forward. So for now, we are recessed.

Alright. We are back. We're reconvening. Or no. Actually, we're gonna start with the 11am agenda. So we are convening the Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection to come back and finish decision making on three items that were previously heard.

First up on the agenda, we have Senate Bill 3183, relating to renewable energy. This is the tax credit bill. So for this bill, we're going to clarify that threshold and somewhat match the structure of this up more to what we passed out of the House.

We will match that threshold so the tax credit would not be available to single filers with income over 250,000 and joint filers over 350. And then we will also add language that limits the credit to a maximum of two systems per single family residential property, and this would reference system as defined in Hawaii Administrative Rules by DOTAX.

And then we are not making this amendment in the bill right now, but we wanna, I wanna say that we're talking about issues with the way the tax credit is currently structured allows third party entities to claim the tax credit. They essentially own the systems and provide them to customers as a lease.

And the challenges with this is that we cannot see behind the veil of what are the income thresholds of any of these people benefiting from that structure or how much of those savings are actually passed on to customers to get with.

So we're definitely still keeping it in play as to whether we wanna tackle that aspect of the tax credit in future versions. But for now, just the amendments I stated. We'll re-defect the date to the year 3000 and move this forward. Members, any discussion? If not, Vice Chair.

On SB 3183, SD 2, Chair's recommendation is to pass with amendments. [Roll Call] Chair, your recommendation has been adopted.

Thank you. On Senate Bill 2485, relating to solid waste management. I think further discussion about this with various stakeholders decided not to move this forward at this time, so we're deferring this measure. And then Senate Bill 2101, relating to organic waste. We have a number of amendments that were provided back to us from Department of Health.

So on Section one, page one, line eight, we will add language to the preamble. Section one, page one, lines 11 to 12, delete and further benchmarks. Section one, page one, line 15, add while accounting for existing county integrated solid waste management plan timelines.

And then we will, on Section two, page two, lines three to five, change those years out to 2038 and 2043. And on Section two, page two, line 17 to 19, change the years to 2038, 2043, and 2048. Page three, line 11 through page four, lines 10, we will delete this and replace it with a new subsection four, methods to achieve organic waste stream reduction goals.

Pursuant to section 342G-3B HRS. Such methods shall account for reducing potential risk and transporting invasive species and organic waste. We will delete page four, lines 12 to 15. Section three, page four, line 16 to 20, we will amend the definition of organic waste. And we will delete section four, page five, lines 12 through 16. Section five, page five, line 17 through page six, line four and three, defect the date to the year 3000. So with that, Members, any discussion? Seeing none. Vice Chair.

On SB 2101, SD 1, Chair's recommendation is to pass with amendments. Chair and Vice Chair voting aye and noting the excused absences of Rep Kusch. I'm sorry. Rep Kahaloa and Rep Quinlan. Are there any noes or reservations? Seeing none. Chair, your recommendation has been adopted.

Alright. And then finally, we have Senate Bill 3138, relating to independent audits of beverage distributors. We're just gonna blank out the the numbers of containers that established these various tiered thresholds, and re-defect the date to the year 3000 and move this forward. Members, any discussion? If not, Vice Chair.

SB 3138, SD 1. Chair's recommendation is to pass with amendments. Chair and Vice Chair voting aye. Representative Kahaloa and Representative Quinlan are excused. Are there any noes or reservations? Seeing none. Chair, your recommendation has been adopted.

Alright. And we will adjourn this hearing. And reconvene our 10am agenda for decision making. And first up, we have Senate Bill 3253, relating to conservation. We will move this forward as is. Members, any discussion? Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

On SB 3253, SD 2, HD 1, Chair's recommendation is to pass as is. [Roll Call] Chair, your recommendation has been adopted.

Thank you. And Senate Bill 3154, relating to transportation environmental review. This will also move forward as is. Members, any discussion? Seeing none. Vice Chair, please take the vote.

SB 3154, SD 2, HD 1. Chair's recommendation is to pass as is. Chair and Vice Chair voting aye. Noting the excused absence of Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan. Are there any noes or reservations? Seeing none. Chair, your recommendation has been adopted.

Thank you. And then finally, we have Senate Bill 3254, relating to the state budget. This is a bit of an unusual bill because it is a bill basically for a grant to need, but I also think it's really important given the timeliness of the tax credits expiring and how this would help provide resilience to have, you know, independent power source for health centers to operate under emergency conditions as well. So we will keep this moving forward as is. Members, any discussion? Seeing none. Vice Chair.

On SB 3254, SD 2, HD 1, Chair's recommendation is to pass as is. Chair and Vice Chair voting aye. Reps Kahaloa and Quinlan are excused. Are there any noes or reservations? Seeing none. Chair, your recommendation has been adopted.

Alright. Thank you, and we are adjourned.