STAND. COM. REP. NO. 534

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1311

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Education and Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 1311 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Department of Education to establish food waste and zero-emission vehicle goals as part of the sustainable schools initiative; and

(2) Require annual reports to the Legislature.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i Public Health Institute, Ulupono Initiative, Americans for Democratic Action, Take Flight, Climate Protectors Hawaii, Hawaii Electric Vehicle Association, and seven individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Education and Hawaii State Energy Office.

Your Committees find that food in public schools is wasted each day, costing the Department of Education millions of dollars each year. Safely sharing unused food that would otherwise be wasted with those who need it and implementing on-site campus composting programs that students can be involved with will help divert food waste from landfills, save potentially millions of dollars annually, provide students with valuable and engaging learning experiences, and give farmers and communities fresh carbon-sequestering compost. Additionally, your Committees find that providing access to healthy plant-based foods in state public schools is an effective way to improve sustainability and student health.

Your Committees also find that traditional internal combustion school bus engines emit exhaust, which children breathe in while riding buses and sitting in traffic, and can increase asthma and other health problems. In contrast, electric school buses provide potential benefits to the quality of student health, the environment, utility infrastructure, and cost savings. Additionally, electric buses have lower operational, maintenance, and labor costs than comparable buses powered by internal combustion engines and align with Hawaii's established goals of achieving a carbon-negative economy by 2045. This measure will engage students in sustainable living through learning about food waste management and provide students with zero emission transportation in the future.

Your Committees note that because the Department of Education contracts the majority of transportation services through private companies, the Department of Education will be somewhat constrained in the speed at which they can meet zero emissions goals. The Department of Education must balance the mandate to provide transportation services to students with the goals contained within this measure. Your Committees understand that this balancing effort may require amendments down the line based on the capacity for the Department of Education and their private contractors to replace existing internal combustion engine fleets and looks forward to the annual reports from the Department of Education to the Legislature.

Your Committees have amended this measure by 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 Education and Agriculture and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1311, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1311, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Agriculture and Environment,

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair

________________________________ MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair