STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1610

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2015

RE:   S.B. No. 1260

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 1260 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RECYCLING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to promote glass recycling in the State by mandating that the Department of Health adopt and implement the recommendations made by the Office of the Auditor in its December 2014 Report No. 14-17 regarding local alternatives to shipping non-deposit glass out of the State.  Specifically, this measure requires the Department of Health to, among other things:

(1)  Consider and perform a cost-benefit analysis on combining the glass container processing streams for the advance disposal fee under chapter 342G, part VII, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and the deposit beverage container fee under chapter 342G, part VIII, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(2)  Update its glass recycling policies, particularly to address obstacles to local down-cycling of advance deposit fee glass;

(3)  Increase the recovery rate for advance disposal fee glass containers to 75 percent; and

(4)  Submit a report to the Legislature prior to the 2016 Regular Session.

The Office of the Auditor supported this measure.  The Department of Health opposed this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1)  Changing its effective date to July 1, 2030, to facilitate further discussion; and

(2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1260, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1260, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair