STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3206
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 2963
S.D. 2
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2022
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2963, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENERGY EFFICIENCY,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to promote energy efficiency.
More specifically, this measure:
(1) Requires state facilities, with the exception of smaller facilities and facilities within the stadium development district, to implement cost-effective energy efficiency measures;
(2) Directs the Hawaii State Energy Office to collect all state-owned facilities' electric utility bills and energy usage data and make this data publicly available;
(3) Directs the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to collect all state-owned facilities' water utility bills and water usage data and make this data publicly available;
(4) Establishes a goal for the State to achieve at least a twenty-five percent reduction in the electricity consumption of state facilities;
(5) Provides that certain agencies that perform energy efficiency retrofitting may continue to receive budget appropriations for energy expenditures;
(6) Appropriates moneys to the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to fund two full-time equivalent (2.0 FTE) positions to fulfill the agency's water efficiency management responsibilities; and
(7) Beginning July 1, 2023, where feasible and cost-effective, requires the design of all new state building construction to maximize energy generation, water efficiency, energy efficiency, and energy generation potential, and to use building materials, such as post-industrial carbon dioxide mineralized concrete and clumping bamboo, that reduce the carbon footprint of the project.
Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Accounting and General Services, Hawaii State Energy Office, 350Hawaii, Blue Planet Foundation, Hawaii Energy, Ulupono Initiative, and eleven individuals.
Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from one individual.
Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance, Department of Transportation, and Office of Planning and Sustainable Development.
Your Committee finds that improving energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to reduce carbon emissions associated with electricity generation and consumption. Your Committee also finds that maximizing energy efficiency and thereby reducing demand for power generation is a necessary component of reaching the State's clean energy and decarbonization goals.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Clarifying that the Hawaii State Energy Office, in consultation with the Research and Economic Analysis Division of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, shall collect electric utility and energy usage data from all state-owned facilities and make this data publicly available;
(2) Transferring the water efficiency management responsibilities from the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to the Hawaii State Energy Office;
(3) Changing the recipient of the appropriation from the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to the Hawaii State Energy Office;
(4) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and
(5) Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
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. 2963, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2963, S.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,
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________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair |