STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1440

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   H.C.R. No. 208

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Transportation and Energy & Environmental Protection, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 208 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE ELECTRIFICATION OF ENERGY-EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS IN HAWAII,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this concurrent resolution is to increase protection of Hawaii's fragile environment while also reducing Hawaii's dependence of imported fossil fuel by supporting the electrification of energy-efficient transportation systems in Hawaii.

     Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., Maui Electric Company, Ltd., Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc., Enterprise Honolulu, and Better Place Hawaii testified in support of this measure.

     Currently, there are over one million registered vehicles in the State of Hawaii, with a majority of those vehicles reliant on gasoline as their source of energy.  Unfortunately, the emissions produced by these vehicles have environmental consequences, including the increase in greenhouse gases which, in turn, leads to global warming.  Furthermore, the amount of gasoline these vehicles use requires Hawaii to be heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels. 

     The electrification of Hawaii's transportation system will allow for the increased use of electric vehicles which not only will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and stem the effects of climate change, but also has the potential to create jobs and foster economic growth.

     Your Committees have amended this bill by:

     (1)  Clarifying that the amount of gasoline consumed annually by Hawaii's motor vehicles is 400 million gallons rather than 1.4 billion gallons; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and Energy & Environmental Protection that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 208, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Finance, in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 208, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Transportation and Energy & Environmental Protection,

____________________________ HERMINA MORITA, Chair

____________________________ JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair