STAND. COM. REP. NO.319
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: H.B. No. 1282
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 1282 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENERGY CONSERVATION TAX CREDITS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to further the State's objective to reduce the consumption and dependence on imported oil by extending the energy conservation income tax credit to 2010.
The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, Hawaiian Electric Company (and its subsidiaries, Hawaii Electric Light Company and Maui Electric Company), The Hydrogen Renewable Energy Enterprise, LLC, Hawaii Renewable Energy Alliance, Vertical Wind Turbine Technologies, LLC, Freeac, Inc., Senter Petroleum, Inc., Ka Makani O Kohala Ohana, Inc., Hawaii Solar Energy Association, Building Industry Association, Sierra Club, Hawaii Chapter, Life of the Land, and individuals testified in support of this measure.
The Gas Company and Tax Foundation of Hawaii submitted comments on the bill. The Department of Taxation recommended that the bill be deferred.
Your Committee recognizes:
(1) The importance of combined heat and power systems for its energy efficiency and as a generation diversity methodology;
(2) That the energy conservation tax credit for individuals and businesses will help make construction and improvements more affordable to homeowners and businesses and generate a higher level of construction activity and help conserve scarce resources; and
(3) The need to further investigate the potential and associated costs of the absorption chilling process using used lubricating oils to displace electricity as a source of power for refrigeration and air conditioning, and its collateral benefit of disposing of the State's environmentally hazardous supply of used oil.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Providing a tax credit for combined heat and power systems; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1282, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1282, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection,
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____________________________ HERMINA M. MORITA, Chair |
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