STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3178

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1289

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1289, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ROOFTOP SOLAR INSTALLATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure, beginning on January 1, 2022, is to prohibit the issuance of a building permit for a new single-family dwelling that is part of a development of twenty or more dwellings and does not include a rooftop solar energy generation system, unless a variance is granted.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i, Climate Protectors Coalition, Hawaii Solar Energy Association, Blue Planet Foundation, Sunpin Solar, 350Hawaii, and one individual. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Building Industry Association of Hawaii. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Hawaii State Energy Office and Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.

Your Committees find that Act 97, Session Laws of Hawaii 2015, set a statewide goal to reach one hundred percent renewable energy by 2045. Your Committees further find that the State has incentivized homeowners to install rooftop solar energy generation systems by providing a tax credit. Rooftop solar energy generation systems play an important role in achieving the State's renewable energy goals by the targeted goal. Your Committees believe that requiring rooftop solar energy generation systems on new single-family dwelling units during the construction phase significantly reduces the cost of installation for homeowners. This measure will increase the use of renewable energy, promote energy efficient construction, and decrease the use of imported fossil fuels by prohibiting the issuance of a building permit for certain single-family dwellings unless a rooftop solar energy generation system is installed.

Your Committees note that this measure does not define a rooftop solar energy generation system and that a legally-enforceable requirement needs to include a clear and consistent definition. Accordingly, your Committees recommend that in moving forward with this measure, pertinent stakeholders agree upon an appropriate definition for a rooftop solar energy generation system to ensure the enforceability of this measure.

Your Committees have amended this measure by inserting an effective date of June 18, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1289, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1289, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair