STAND. COM. REP. NO.  860

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2017

RE:   H.B. No. 1593

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 1593, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1)  Reduce some of the oversight of the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Loan Program to encourage more rapid deployment of loans to further the Program; and

(2)  Directly assist Hawaii's underserved residents by using dormant funds from the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Loan Program to create the Clean Energy Savings Jump Start Program, with the intent of rapidly deploying funds to assist disadvantaged communities with investments in clean energy and energy efficiency.  

Distributed Energy Resources Council of Hawaii, Healthy Climate Communities, and numerous individuals testified in support of this measure.  The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Division of Consumer Advocacy, Hawaii Energy Policy Forum Energy Efficiency Working Group, and Ulupono Initiative opposed this measure.  The Department of Budget and Finance, Public Utilities Commission, Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority, State Procurement Office, The Alliance for Solar Choice, Amber Kinetics, and Hawaii Solar Energy Association provided comments on this measure.

     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 H.B. No. 1593, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair