STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2407

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 3139

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Energy and Environment and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 3139 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for the Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council to establish a renewable energy project to build components for rechargeable, battery-powered automobiles.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council.

     Your Committees find that the project will create twenty-five new fabricator, assembler, and installer jobs during the first twelve-month period, six administrative staff positions, one plant supervisor position, and an additional twenty-five plant workers by the end of the second year.

     Your Committees further find that the Hawaii Economic Opportunity Council's hiring practices will prioritize the hiring of persons who are receiving unemployment benefits and who are work-fare eligible, and therefore this measure supports the State's interest in creating opportunities for the unemployed.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by omitting the appropriation amount.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Energy and Environment and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3139, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3139, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Energy and Environment and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

____________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair

____________________________ RON MENOR, Chair