STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1032

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1580

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Transportation and Energy, to which was referred H.B. No. 1580, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENERGY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Establish a clean ground transportation benchmark framework to maximize consumer fuel savings, including a near term 2025 target encouraging electric vehicle infrastructure buildout supporting Hawaii's goal for the reduction and ultimate elimination of the use of imported fuels for ground transportation; and

     (2)  Direct the Department of Transportation to collaborate with the state energy office to develop recommendations to achieve those benchmarks.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Office of Economic Development, County of Kauai; Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.; Sierra Club of Hawai‘i; Tesla, Inc.; Culture Guru, Inc.; Americans for Democratic Action; Citizens' Climate Lobby; Baldwin Professional Services, LLC; Students of Sustainability, SOS Hilo, Hawaii; Student Sustainability Coalition of Hawai‘i; Waikiki Bike Tours & Rentals; Young Progressives Demanding Action; Pacific Biodiesel Technologies; Blue Planet Foundation; Big Island EV Association; Graduate Student Organization University of Hawai‘i at Manoa; We Are One, Inc.; Hawaii Transportation Association; Hawaii Petroleum Marketers Association; Hawaii Bicycling League; and eighty-one individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of the Mayor, County of Hawaii and one individual.

     Your Committee finds that it is vital that the State begin transitioning away from imported fossil fuel-powered ground transportation.  Moving away from imported fossil fuel-powered ground transportation is an important step in moving toward cleaner and more efficient transportation systems powered by renewable, local energy sources.  Eliminating the State's reliance on imported fossil fuel-powered ground transportation will also combat greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change.  Climate change causes sea levels to rise which threatens coastal residences and businesses and poses other additional risks to public health.  An effective way to combat the State's reliance on imported fossil fuels and, thus, climate change is to transition to the use of electric vehicles.  Electric vehicles also provide the added benefit of being less expensive to operate on a per-mile basis than their gas-powered counterparts.  However, the effective transition to widespread use of electric vehicles across the State requires the development of critical infrastructure elements, such as electric vehicle charging stations.  Consequently, establishing a plan and a target date for transitioning to clean ground transportation are essential steps in progressing toward the State's goal of one hundred percent clean energy ground transportation.

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Adding language to clarify that the Department of Transportation is to identify a plan for the reduction and ultimate elimination of the State's dependence on imported fossil fuels for ground transportation by 2045;

     (2)  Updating the definition of "electric vehicle" to include fuel cell electric vehicles and defining "fuel cell electric vehicle";

     (3)  Requiring a plan for the installation of one electric vehicle charging station for every five electric vehicles deployed or the installation of one electric vehicle charging station for every thirty miles;

     (4)  Codifying the Hawaii clean ground transportation initiative in chapter 196, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the energy resources chapter, rather than chapter 264, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the highways chapter; and

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

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation and Energy that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1580, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1580, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation and Energy,

________________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair