STAND. COM. REP. NO. 883

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 704

       S.D. 2

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 704, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to address concerns regarding electric vehicle parking.

     More specifically, this measure:

(1)  Requires places of public accommodation to have one exclusive electric vehicle parking space per one hundred parking spaces available to the general public;

(2)  Requires the appropriate county authority with jurisdiction over planning and permitting to enforce the requirement listed in paragraph (1); and

(3)  Clarifies the electric vehicle parking fee exemption for metered and non-metered state or county parking stalls.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from Blue Planet Foundation, Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, Hawaii Electric Vehicle Network, Ulupono Initiative, and two individuals.  The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the Stadium Authority submitted written comments on the measure.

     Your Committee finds that electric cars make up an increasing share of the motor vehicles in Hawaii.  In 2014, three percent of the new cars sold in Hawaii were electric cars.  Additionally, the State has an interest in promoting the growth of the electric vehicle market.  Having more electric vehicles on the roads in Hawaii creates greater sustainability by reducing the number of vehicles using fossil fuels.  An increase in electric vehicles in Hawaii also promotes long-term economic stability by reducing the amount of fossil fuels that need to be shipped to Hawaii for non-electric vehicles.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion and to address any implementation concerns raised by impacted agencies as this measure moves forward.

     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. 704, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 704, S.D. 2.

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

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair