STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1491

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2021

RE: S.B. No. 913

S.D. 2

H.D. 2

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Higher Education & Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 913, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SUSTAINABLE ELECTRONICS MANAGEMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to promote electronics stewardship and reduce electronic waste in the State by establishing the Electronic Device and Television Donation Act to require all persons receiving state funds and state financial assistance to donate unnecessary but functioning electronic devices to nonprofit organizations that will refurbish and distribute the devices to eligible persons in the State.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, Transform Hawai‘i Government, and Hawaiian Hope Org. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Department of Accounting and General Services and State Procurement Office. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that growth in the technology industry has led to ongoing escalation of electronic waste in landfills. Your Committee also finds that while recycling of electronic devices prevents valuable materials from being wasted, preventing waste in the first place is preferable to waste management. Donating used but functioning electronic devices for reuse extends the life of valuable products, keeps devices out of the waste stream for a longer period of time, and serves a valuable public purpose and benefit. Your Committee further finds that this measure will provide nonprofits in the State greater access to computers and other electronic devices that can be refurbished for community use, rather than being discarded as electronic waste.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying the start date in which:

(A) A covered entity must at least annually identify any excess electronic device and transfer the title and possession of the device to a covered refurbisher at no cost, as January 1, 2022;

(B) A covered entity must annually report to the Department of Accounting and General Services any excess electronic device it transferred to a covered refurbisher during the previous year, as January 1, 2023;

(C) A covered refurbisher must annually report to the Department of Accounting and General Services any excess electronic device it received during the previous year, as February 1, 2023;

(D) The Department of Accounting and General Services must maintain and update a website with current information on covered refurbishers available in the State, as January 1, 2022; and

(E) The Department of Accounting and General Services must annually compile information submitted by covered refurbishers or the excess electronic devices it received and distributed during the previous year and submit a report to the Legislature, as April 1, 2023;

(2) Specifying that a violation of the Electronic Device and Television Donation Act shall be subject to a penalty not to exceed $1,000 for a first violation and a penalty not to exceed $2,000 for a second and any subsequent violation; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education & Technology that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 913, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 913, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Higher Education & Technology,

____________________________

GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair