STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2739

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2645

       S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2645, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WATER AUDITS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Commission on Water Resource Management to establish and implement a program to conduct standardized water audits of public water systems, and to appropriate $350,000 in general funds for this purpose.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Board of Water Supply of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii Community Foundation, and one individual.

     Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Agriculture.

     Your Committee finds that the efficient use of the State's limited water resources is of paramount importance to the continued growth and security of our State.  Audits can provide valuable information to help utilities manage their operational and financial resources in a more effective manner.

     Your Committee notes that the Department of Land and Natural Resources indicated that the Commission on Water Resource Management, which is placed within the department, may require closer to $650,000 to carry out the utility training that would be required under a water audit program.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1)  Changing the appropriation from $350,000 to an unspecified amount;

(2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on this measure.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2645, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2645, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair