STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3728

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 99

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Energy, Economic Development, and Tourism and Government Operations, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 99 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU TO UPDATE A STUDY ON THE FEASIBILITY OF UNDERGROUNDING THE STATE'S UTILITY FACILITIES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Legislative Reference Bureau to update a study on the feasibility of undergrounding the State's utility facilities.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Legislative Reference Bureau and the Hawaii State Energy Office.

Your Committees find that undergrounding, or placing existing and proposed overhead utility facilities underground, would help the State preserve, protect, and enhance view planes and scenic resources for residents, visitors, and filmgoers worldwide. According to testimony from the Legislative Reference Bureau, its 1999 report on the feasibility of undergrounding the State's utility facilities does not need to be updated and that eight out of the nine recommendations provided in the report have yet to be implemented by the Public Utilities Commission.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Amending the contents of the measure to request that the Public Utilities Commission:

(A) Adopt the recommendations for undergrounding the State's utility facilities as outlined in the 1999 Legislative Reference Bureau report entitled "Undergrounding Public Utility Lines"; and

(B) Submit a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023 that addresses its reasons for not adopting each recommendation for undergrounding the State's utility facilities as outlined in the 1999 Legislative Reference Bureau report entitled "Undergrounding Public Utility Lines";

(2) Amending its title to reflect its amended purpose; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Energy, Economic Development, and Tourism and Government Operations that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 99, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 99, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Energy, Economic Development, and Tourism and Government Operations,

________________________________ SHARON MORIWAKI, Chair

________________________________ GLENN WAKAI, Chair