STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2502

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2279
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which
was referred S.B. No. 2279 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UTILITY LINES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to establish a state policy
on utility line placement that places the highest priority on
aesthetic factors.

     Testimony on the measure was submitted by the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC), Consumer Advocate, Office of Hawaiian
Affairs, Kauai Electric, GTE, Life of the Land, Na Leo Pohai,
Hawaii's Thousand Friends, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Environmental Center, Hawaiian Electric Company, and an
individual.

     Your Committee finds that the aesthetic advantages offered
by an underground utility transmission system are an important
consideration when determining the placement of utility lines.
However, your Committee recognizes that these decisions must
necessarily take into account economic factors, including short
term and long term costs, and that one of the underlying
principles of utility regulation is that the party responsible
for incurring the cost should bear the cost.  Further, under
present law, public policy is just one of the factors that must
be considered by the PUC in reviewing applications for the
construction of high-voltage systems, and concurrently, the PUC
must consider whether the governmental agency establishing the

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2502
                                   Page 2


policy has committed funds for the additional costs of
undergrounding.  Therefore, upon careful consideration, your
Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Establishing a state policy that places a high value on
          aesthetic considerations, but does not elevate this
          factor above all the other factors that are involved in
          utilities placement decisions; and
 
     (2)  Requiring the PUC to take into account the proximity of
          above-ground systems to culturally significant areas,
          including burial sites, when considering applications
          for the construction of 138 kilovolt or greater
          transmission systems.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to
this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of S.B. No. 2279, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B.
No. 2279, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third
Reading.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Commerce and
                                   Consumer Protection,



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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