STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1162

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1296

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Economic Development and Technology and Energy and Environment, to which was referred H.B. No. 1296, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENERGY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Designate the State Hydrogen Implementation Coordinator;

     (2)  Require the hydrogen investment capital special fund to be used to provide funding for the implementation of hydrogen infrastructure; and

     (3)  Establish the hydrogen implementation working group.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; High Technology Development Corporation; Hawaii Strategic Development Corporation; Servco Pacific Inc.; General Motors LLC; Hawaii Energy Policy Forum of the University of Hawaii College of Social Sciences; Hawaiian Electric Vehicle Network; Hawaii Clean Energy Foundation; Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers; and Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

     Your Committees find that this measure designates the Director of the Hawaii Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies (HCATT), within the High Technology Development Corporation, to serve as the State Hydrogen Implementation Coordinator, who will convene a working group to facilitate implementation of hydrogen infrastructure.  This measure directs this coordinator to facilitate the establishment of infrastructure and policies throughout state agencies to promote the expansion of hydrogen-based energy in Hawaii.

     Your Committees further find that this measure promotes the reduction of the State's reliance on imported fossil fuel, greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution and provides clear energy transportation options for the State.  Additionally, this measure highlights the importance of hydrogen as a key element in the design of electric vehicles, the mechanisms of energy storage, and its value in reducing carbon footprints.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Removing the amendments to section 211F-5.7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, that would have provided funding for the implementation of hydrogen infrastructure, in order to encourage further discussion on the hydrogen implementation working group's projected spending and future goals;

     (2)  Extending the date on which the working group dissolves to July 1, 2030, to match the defective date of the measure for the purpose of consistency; 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 Economic Development and Technology and Energy and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1296, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1296, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Economic Development and Technology and Energy and Environment,

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair

________________________________ GLENN WAKAI, Chair