Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 1015, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to simplify the deposit beverage container program for, among others, commercial passenger vessels, including cruise ships and airlines, by providing an exemption from the requirements of the State's deposit beverage container law for commercial passenger vessels that have recycling programs prescribed to or approved by the Department of Health (DOH)

DOH, Norwegian Cruise Line, NCL America, and the North West Cruiseship Association testified in support of this bill. The Legislative Center on behalf of Anheuser Busch Companies supported the intent of the bill.

Your Committee finds that the current Deposit Beverage Container Law (Bottle Law) does not require distributors to pay a deposit on containers that are exported for consumption outside of the state. During implementation of the Bottle Law, DOH encountered difficulties in tracking specific containers used by airlines and cruiseships and determining whether these containers were consumed within or outside of the state. Moreover, the problem is compounded by the fact that many beverage distributors responsible for paying the deposit and container fee to DOH are one or two steps removed from the sale of containers to cruiseships and airlines, often working with purchasing companies rather than directly with the airline or cruiseship. Your Committee believes that exempting commercial passenger vessels from the requirements of the State's Bottle Law, if they have a DOH-approved recycling program, addresses the problems of tracking these containers while maintaining the integrity of the Bottle Law and continuing to protect Hawaii's environment.

However, your Committee understands the concerns raised by The Legislative Center regarding the ambiguity of the exemption provided for in this measure, and by DOH on the need to address the issue of allowing the crushing or flattening of cans to increase the amount of cans that can be stored in existing storage facilities.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1015, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1015, H.D. 2.