CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 201-22

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2022

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2720

       S.D. 2

       H.D. 2

       C.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

 

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

 

Sirs:

 

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 2720, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENERGY,"

 

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:

 

     (1)  Allow new electric vehicle charging stations and certain upgrades having a single port to qualify for a rebate;

 

     (2)  Remove the $500,000 cap on the electric vehicle charging station rebate program;

 

     (3)  Specify that no rebates shall be approved after available funds are exhausted for the fiscal year;

 

     (4)  Increase the percentage of funds that the Public Utilities Commission may use for administration of the rebate program;

 

     (5)  Allow for marketing and outreach expenses to be included within allowable administration costs of the electric vehicle charging station rebate program; and

 

     (6)  Appropriate funds out of the electric vehicle charging system subaccount for the electric vehicle charging system rebate program.

 

     Your Committee on Conference finds that climate change caused by carbon emissions is a problem with serious environmental, economic, and health ramifications.  Electric vehicles are an efficient method of transportation which both helps to mitigate the climate change problem and reduce the cost of transportation for the driver, especially through a decreased reliance on expensive fossil fuels.  This measure's purpose is to encourage the installation of more electric vehicle charging stations.

 

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Inserting $2,000 and $1,300 as the maximum rebate amounts for the installation and upgrade of an electric vehicle charging system, respectively;

 

     (2)  Limiting the amount of rebate program moneys authorized to be used for administrative purposes to fifteen percent and clarifying that expenditures not related to marketing or outreach expenses shall not exceed ten percent;

 

     (3)  Removing section 5 and its appropriations;

 

     (4)  Amending Act 75, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, to appropriate $500,000 and to clarify that moneys appropriated in Act 75, section 5, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, will not lapse at the end of the fiscal year and instead, all unexpended funds will lapse as of June 30, 2024;

 

     (5)  Appropriating $1,000,000 out of the electric vehicle charging system subaccount for the electric vehicle charging system rebate program;

 

     (6)  Inserting an effective date of June 30, 2022; and

 

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

 

     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 S.B. No. 2720, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2720, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, C.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

 

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

 

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

 

____________________________

NICOLE E. LOWEN

Co-Chair

 

____________________________

CHRIS LEE

Chair

____________________________

LISA KITAGAWA

Co-Chair

 

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER

Co-Chair

____________________________

LISA MARTEN

Co-Chair

 

____________________________

GLENN WAKAI

Co-Chair