STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1614

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 863

H.D. 2

S.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 863, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to make changes to the types of information required from the petroleum industry and the analysis of that information.

This measure:

(1) Establishes the petroleum monitoring, analysis, and reporting fund, to be funded from the environmental response revolving fund;

(2) Requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to develop and maintain an automated petroleum industry information reporting system;

(3) Redelineates the types of information that the petroleum industry must submit to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism;

(4) Recognizes the efforts of the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum in working to achieve the objective of creating a single integrated energy strategy; and

(5) Makes appropriations out of the petroleum industry monitoring, analysis, and reporting special fund to be expended by the:

(A) Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to establish the petroleum industry monitoring, analysis, and reporting program and to continue to support for the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum; and

(B) Public Utilities Commission to implement the petroleum price control program established by Chapter 486H, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

Your Committee considered amending this measure to include the contents of H.B. No. 1705, H.D. 1, which was previously heard and passed by your Committee on Energy, Environment and International Affairs. H.B. No. 1705, H.D. 1 provides more flexibility in the administration of the wholesale gasoline law by allowing the Governor to:

(1) Determine when the price caps under the law will be first implemented;

(2) Cease implementation of the law and render the law inoperable; and

(3) Subsequently restart or cease implementation of the law,

if the Governor determines that such actions are beneficial to the economic well-being, health, and safety of the people of Hawaii, publishes statewide notice of the action, and provides a report to the Legislature for any fiscal year during which the price cap was not operable for more than 180 days.

However, following lengthy discussions with the Chair of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing, the Chair would not give prior concurrence to the amendment. Your Committee will respect the desires of the Chair of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing and will not include that amendment in this measure at this time. However, your Committee respectfully requests that the Chair of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing continue to consider the merits of H.B. No. 1705, H.D. 1 during conference committee deliberations on this measure.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the amounts to be appropriated by sections 15, 16, 17, and 18 to $1.

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 H.B. No. 863, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 863, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair