STAND. COM. REP. NO. 619

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 552

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 552 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENERGY-EFFICIENT VEHICLES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to establish the procurement policy for all agencies purchasing or leasing motor vehicles to obtain energy-efficient vehicles.

     Your Committee received testimony in support from the Sierra Club.  Comments were received from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     This measure provides that, beginning January 1, 2010, all light-duty vehicles procured by or for any agency shall have an estimated fuel economy of at least eighteen miles per gallon under standards published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, except under specified circumstances of usage of the vehicle such as law enforcement and emergency vehicles.

     Your Committee has amended this measure on the recommendation of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to replace the contents with a statutory amendment to establish a procurement policy for all agencies to obtain light duty motor vehicles that reduce dependency on petroleum-based fuels, including electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen or fuel cell vehicles, other alternative fuel vehicles, and vehicles identified by the United State Environmental Protection Agency as being top performance for fuel economy by class.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 552, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 552, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs,

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair