CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 164-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: H.B. No. 2195

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

C.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 2195, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CESSPOOLS,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this measure is to establish and appropriate funds for a Cesspool Compliance Pilot Grant Project to assist low- and moderate-income property owners, including lessees on Hawaiian home lands, with the costs of upgrading, converting, or connecting a failing cesspool.

Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

(1) Updating the preamble;

(2) Clarifying the grant award criteria, including a household income limit of no greater than one hundred forty percent of the area median income;

(3) Requiring an owner or lessee to provide the Department of Health with certain documents;

(4) Limiting the maximum amount of a grant award to $20,000;

(5) Making rulemaking by the Department of Health discretionary, rather than mandatory, and authorizing third parties to claim a grant award on behalf of an owner or lessee, subject to Department of Health rules;

(6) Specifying that the Department of Health shall submit a report on the grant pilot project to the Legislature prior to the Regular Session of 2024;

(7) Inserting an appropriation amount of $5,000,000 for the implementation of the Cesspool Compliance Pilot Grant Project;

(8) Removing language that would have allowed appropriated funds to be used for one temporary, part-time position in the Department of Health;

(9) Specifying that any appropriated funds unencumbered as of June 30, 2024, shall lapse as of that date;

(10) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2022, and inserting a sunset date of June 30, 2028; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2195, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2195, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

____________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE Chair	____________________________ NICOLE E. LOWEN Co-Chair
____________________________ MIKE GABBARD Co-Chair	____________________________ LISA KITAGAWA Co-Chair
____________________________ DRU KANUHA Co-Chair	____________________________ LISA MARTEN Co-Chair