STAND. COM. REP. NO. 861-06

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2006

RE: H.B. No. 1021

H.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 1021, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to make improvements to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) by:

(1) Increasing the salary of the chairperson of the PUC from 87 percent of the salary of the Director of Human Resources Development to 100 percent of the salary of the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs;

(2) Authorizing the chairperson of the PUC to appoint utility analysts and legal assistants exempt from the civil service law;

(3) Authorizing the PUC to suspend collection of public utility fees from public utilities that do not pay the flat rate of $30 instead of refunding the excess, upon collection of $3,000,000 in the PUC Special Fund; and

(4) Appropriating funds for the PUC to reorganize.

The PUC, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., Maui Electric Company, Ltd., Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc., Life of the Land, Rocky Mountain Institute, Hawaii Energy Policy Forum, PowerLight Corporation, and Hawaii Renewable Energy Alliance testified in support of this bill. The Consumer Advocate offered comments.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2020, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1021, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1021, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

 

____________________________

DWIGHT TAKAMINE, Chair