STAND. COM. REP. NO. 79-06

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2006

RE: H.B. No. 2620

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 2620 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to establish an alternative fuel portfolio standard for motor vehicle fuels in the State of Hawaii.

The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the Public Utilities Commission, and the Rocky Mountain Institute supported the intent of this bill. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Hawaii Automobile Dealers' Association opposed this bill. The Office of Information Practices and the Hawaii Motorcycle Dealers Association submitted comments.

Your Committee has amended this bill by replacing its contents and inserting language that:

(1) Directs the counties to issue license plates for energy-efficient vehicles and exempts vehicles with these license plates from motor vehicle registration fees for a period of five years;

(2) Directs state covered fleets to:

(A) Meet energy efficiency standards for newly purchased light-duty vehicles one year sooner than required under current law;

(B) Meet an additional standard requiring at least thirty per cent of newly purchased light-duty vehicles to be energy-efficient in fiscal year 2007-2008; and

(C) Meet an energy-efficiency standard of at least seventy-five per cent for years subsequent to fiscal year 2008-2009;

(3) Defines "alternative fuel", "covered fleet", "excluded vehicles", and "light duty vehicle", as defined in 10 Code of Federal Regulations Part 490;

(4) Amends the definition of "energy-efficient vehicle" to include vehicles using alternative fuel and vehicles on the "Most Energy Efficient Vehicles" list or in the top one-fifth of the most energy-efficient vehicles available in Hawaii, as maintained by the United States Environmental Protection Agency;

(5) Clarifies how offsets of the purchase requirements are measured and provides for offsets for vehicles using biodiesel fuel;

(6) Sets forth exemptions to the energy-efficiency standards and how to apply for an exemption;

(7) Adds a new purpose clause relating to the foregoing amendments; and

(8) Makes technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2620, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2620, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection,

 

____________________________

HERMINA MORITA, Chair