CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 179-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: S.B. No. 2644

S.D. 2

H.D. 2

C.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 2644, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Extend until June 30, 2028, Act 65, Session Laws of Hawaii 2013, as amended by Act 60, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, which provides a limited exemption to the licensing requirements for certain individuals in situations when an electric utility must retain qualified individuals to work with high voltage (six hundred volts or higher) who are not licensed in the State but are otherwise deemed qualified by the electric utility; provided that the public utility certifies to the Board of Electricians and Plumbers that, after a hiring call, no electrician sufficiently qualified and licensed in the State to perform high voltage electrical work applied to timely perform or complete the necessary job or task before the public utility recruited outside the State; and

(2) Make permanent the requirement for the Board of Electricians and Plumbers to submit to the Legislature annual reports relating to high voltage electrical work.

Your Committee on Conference finds that the electrical infrastructure in the State is aging and the construction and maintenance of electrical infrastructure requires specialized high voltage workers. There is a limited number of qualified individuals in the State who are trained and licensed as electricians to perform high voltage electrical work, and even fewer who are qualified to perform overhead line work. As a result, qualified workers are recruited from outside the State when work is available, and requiring them to obtain a separate license to work in Hawaii can be burdensome and could result in significant delays to the progression of important and complex construction projects, including repairs and maintenance in emergency situations. This measure extends the exemption established by Act 65, Session Laws of Hawaii 2013, as amended by Act 60, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, to allow electrical contractors licensed in Hawaii to utilize qualified out-of-state high voltage electrical workers to perform work for a utility without requiring these qualified electrical workers to obtain a Hawaii journey worker electrician license.

Your Committee on Conference notes that the public utility serving the majority of the State remains committed to working with the Hawaii-licensed contractors and electricians, unions, and industry stakeholders to address whether there is a shortage of electricians who perform high voltage electrical work. The public utility will further work to find ways to grow their in-house workforce.

Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying that, before a duly licensed contractor hired by the public utility may recruit qualified electricians who are not licensed in Hawaii, the public utility shall:

(A) Solicit a request for proposals to licensed contractors specifying the high voltage work requested, which shall also be made available through its website in an electronic format to C-62 pole and line and C-63 high voltage electrical contractors; and

(B) Certify to the Board of Electricians and Plumbers that no electricians (including electricians employed by C-62 pole and line or C-63 high voltage electrical contractors) responded to the request for proposal who were sufficiently qualified and licensed in the State and available and able to perform or timely complete the high voltage electrical work or task;

(2) Requiring the public utility to submit an annual report to the Board of Electricians and Plumbers covering the preceding calendar year that identifies, at a minimum:

(A) The number of qualified contractors the public utility employed to perform high voltage electrical work; and

(B) The number of requests for proposals solicited for high voltage work;

(3) Clarifying the licensure exemption is limited to the use by a public utility for high voltage electrical workers who perform electric transmission and distribution line construction, maintenance, and connection to substation work;

(4) Deleting language that would have permanently required the Board of the Electricians and Plumbers to submit annual reports to the Legislature containing certain information;

(5) Extending the repeal date of Act 65, Session Laws of Hawaii 2013, as amended by Act 60, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, to 2027 and further amending Act 60 to require the Board of Electricians and Plumbers to submit annual reports to the Legislature prior to the convening of the regular sessions of 2023 through 2027;

(6) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose;

(7) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2022; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2644, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2644, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ RICHARD H.K. ONISHI Co-Chair	____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER Chair
____________________________ AARON LING JOHANSON Co-Chair	____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI Co-Chair
____________________________ JACKSON D. SAYAMA Co-Chair