HB1033 SD2.DOC

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to advance and support Hawaii's clean energy agenda by creating a mechanism to receive private and public funds, including federal grants and legislative appropriations, in the form of a clean energy special account within the energy security special fund in the department of business, economic development, and tourism. Moneys in the clean energy special account will be used to support clean economic development within the State, including due diligence or feasibility studies on proposed projects recommended by the department.

SECTION 2. Section 201-12.8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§201-12.8 Energy security special fund; uses. (a) There is created within the state treasury an energy security special fund, which shall consist of:

(1) The portion of the environmental response, energy, and food security tax specified under section 243-3.5;

(2) Moneys appropriated to the fund by the legislature;

(3) All interest attributable to investment of money deposited in the fund; and

(4) Moneys allotted to the fund from other sources, including under section 196-6.5.

(b) Subject to legislative appropriation, moneys from the fund may be expended by the department of business, economic development, and tourism for the following purposes and used for no other purposes, except for those set forth in this section:

(1) To support the Hawaii clean energy initiative program, including its energy division, including funding staff positions within the division, and projects that ensure dependable, efficient, and economical energy, promote energy self-sufficiency, and provide greater energy security for the State;

(2) To fund the renewable energy facilitator pursuant to section 201-12.5 and any other positions necessary for the purposes of paragraph (1) as determined by the legislature; and

(3) To fund, to the extent possible, the greenhouse gas emissions reduction task force, climate change task force, grants-in-aid to the economic development boards of each county, and grants-in-aid to economic development agencies of each county to meet the stated objectives of the Hawaii clean energy initiative program.

(c) There is established, within the energy security special fund, the clean energy special account. The department may accept any federal and other funds that can be used for the purposes of the special account, including but not limited to charitable gifts, grants, contributions, and loans from individuals, corporations and philanthropic foundations.

(1) Proceeds from the clean energy special account shall be expended solely pursuant to legislative appropriation; provided that the proceeds shall be reserved to finance qualified clean economy projects that:

(A) Employ commercially viable technologies;

(B) Are capable of being carried out in a commercially viable manner within the State or counties;

(C) Focus on financing qualified renewable energy, renewable energy transmission, energy efficiency, distributed generation, and oil-saving projects and technologies, zero- or low-carbon transportation, clean energy manufacturing, municipal water efficiency, municipal waste efficiency, job training for energy efficiency projects, and for other related purposes; and

(D) Demonstrate fiscal management by remaining current on interest and debt payment obligations.

(2) The employees or contractors employed to support the clean energy special account shall have the appropriate knowledge and experience to consider the merits and various technologies used in clean economy projects.

(3) The director; all employees, contractors, and attorneys retained or employed by the State; and appointees of the department shall not divulge or furnish any information in their possession or obtained by them in the course of their official duties to persons outside the department, except as permitted by chapter 92F. The information prohibited by this paragraph shall include without limitation information that is:

(A) Privileged or exempt from disclosure under any federal or state law;

(B) Related to the business, personal, or financial affairs of any person that is furnished to or for the use of the department in confidence; or

(C) Related to trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person that is privileged or confidential;

provided that information identified in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) shall be confidential and shall not be subject to subpoena or other legal process.

(4) The director may furnish reports of the clean economy project entities or companies to:

(A) The governor, attorney general, and the heads of other state governmental agencies having regulatory authority over the clean economy project entities or companies or clean economy project funding;

(B) The appropriate federal regulatory agencies of the United States Department of Energy; and

(C) Other agencies of the United States or a state for use where necessary to investigate civil or criminal charges in connection with the affairs of any clean economy project entity or company.

Upon the request of the clean economy project entity or company, and pursuant to a proper showing of cause, the director may furnish the reports, or portions thereof, and other information relating to that clean economy project in instances other than those set forth in paragraph (3) or to persons not enumerated in this paragraph, including to prospective acquirers of the clean economy project entity or company. The decision to grant a request under this subsection shall be in the sole discretion of the director.

[~~(c)~~] (d) The department [~~of business, economic development, and tourism~~] shall submit a report to the legislature, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session, on the status and progress of existing programs and activities and the status of new programs and activities funded by the energy security special fund. The report shall also include:

(1) The spending plan of the energy security special fund;

(2) All expenditures of the energy security special fund moneys; and

(3) The targeted markets of the expenditures, including the reason for selecting those markets; the persons to be served; and the specific objectives of the expenditures, including measurable outcomes."

SECTION 3. The director of finance shall submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2013 that shall include an update on various financing options that support a clean energy initiative and a comparison of existing bond vehicles with other financing mechanisms.

SECTION 4. The director of business, economic development, and tourism shall include as part of the energy resource coordinator's annual report to the legislature, beginning with the report prior to the regular session of 2013 and continuing with every subsequent report thereafter, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session, information on any loans to date including the scope of work summary relating to qualified clean economy projects, a comparison of the actual energy usage and costs before and after energy efficiency measures are implemented (converted to fiscal year dollars for comparability), the balance of the clean energy special account as of date of the report, a summary of any projects funded by legislative appropriation from the special account, and a list of recommendations on qualified clean economy projects to be funded by legislative appropriation from the special account.

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050; provided that no funds shall be appropriated for a qualified clean economy project in accordance with section 2 before July 1, 2013.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1033
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 2