Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2003 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require all state agencies to comply with water conservation requests.

The bill also requires state agencies to dedicate a portion of their maintenance funds to retrofit older facilities with water-saving plumbing fixtures.

Water is the most precious natural resource in Hawaii. We can never forget that we are an island state and cannot import water as mainland states can. Hawaii must conserve its water for future use. Unfortunately, appeals to the public for conservation are not always successful: water use on Oahu grew in 2000, despite public requests for conservation.

The State is a very visible user of water, and it needs to provide leadership to the public by conserving when requested. One of the easiest ways to do so is to retrofit older state facilities with water-saving plumbing fixtures. Your Committee finds that this two-prong approach will save water and provide impetus to the community to do the same.

Your Committee has amended the bill by making technical nonsubstantive changes for the sake of clarity.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2003, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2003, S.D. 1.