STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3778

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2614

H.D. 1

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 2614, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require government entities in the State that issue building permits to implement, by January 1, 2025, SolarAPP+ or a functionally equivalent online automated permitting platform that verifies code compliance and issues permits to licensed contractors for solar distributed energy resource systems in real time; and

(2) Require government entities in the State that issue building permits in areas served by an investor-owned electric utility to adopt a self-certification process for solar distributed energy resource systems that are not SolarAPP+ compatible.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Energy Office; Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi; Sunnova Energy International, Inc.; Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi; Citizens' Climate Lobby Hawaii; Canadian Solar Inc.; Solar Help Hawaii; Sol-Ark; Photonworks Engineering LLP; Independent Energy; Building Decarbonization Task Force of the Hawaiʻi Environmental Change Agents; Hawaiʻi Energy; Blue Planet Foundation; Free Access Coalition; Greenpeace Hawaiʻi; Hawaiʻi Executive Collaborative Climate Coalition; AES Hawaiʻi; Alaska Airlines; Alexander & Baldwin; Bowers & Kubota; Chaminade University; Hawaiʻi Green Bank; Hawaiian Airlines; Hawaiian Electric; ʻIolani School; Kaiser Permanente; KHON2; The Nature Conservancy - Hawaiʻi and Palmyra; Re-Use Hawaii; School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaiʻi; Sun Noodle; Young Brothers; Zephyr Insurance Company, Inc.; Zippy's; Green Party of Hawaiʻi; Hawaii Solar Energy Association; Kauai Climate ACTION Coalition; 350Hawaii.org; Sunrun Inc.; Ulupono Initiative; Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action; Malama Solar LLC; The Solaray Corporation dba Inter-Island Solar Supply; Hawaii Food Industry Association; Chamber of Sustainable Commerce; Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi; Tesla; and seventy-three individuals.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Contractors License Board.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, and Landscape Architects.

Your Committees find that the building permit process is essential to ensuring that construction work is carried out safely and in compliance with necessary laws, building codes, and regulations. However, the comprehensive nature of the building permit process can sometimes result in delays or significant additional costs for projects, which in turn can constrain the deployment of important energy generation and storage technology systems that are necessary for the State to meet its ambitious renewable energy goals. Your Committees further find that online permitting tools specifically tailored towards helping expedite the building permit process for solar distributed energy resource systems, such as the United States Department of Energy's SolarAPP+, have been successfully implemented by many other states and cities. Therefore, this measure requires any government entity in the State that issues building permits to take advantage of these renewable energy permitting tools to help the State meet its clean energy, reliability, and resilience goals.

Notwithstanding, your Committees have heard the concern raised by the Hawaii State Energy Office regarding language in this measure pertaining to the self-certification process for areas served by an investor-owned electric utility requiring certain written notice from the duly licensed architect or duly licensed engineer who intends to install the solar distributed energy resource system, on grounds that engineers and architects are not approved installers of systems. Your Committees also note the testimony of the Contractors License Board requesting implementation of additional safeguards before the closing of the building permits. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Amending the self-certification process for residential and commercial on-site solar distributed energy resource systems in areas of the State served by an investor-owned electric utility by:

(A) Clarifying that the government entity that issues building permits is required to receive written notice that the installation of the system complies with all applicable codes and laws from the projects' relevant licensed professionals in their respective fields, rather than the duly licensed architect, duly licensed engineer, duly licensed electrician, or duly licensed plumber, as applicable, who intends to install the solar distributed energy resource system; and

(B) Inserting language that requires the government entity that issues building permits to conduct a final inspection after completion of the project and deem the installation to be in compliance with all applicable codes and laws before closing of the permit;

(2) Requiring the Hawaii State Energy Office to plan for the State to achieve its energy goals with deadlines, including the renewable portfolio standards set forth in section 269-92, Hawaii Revised Statutes, before January 1, 2025, the date by which government entities in the State that issue building permits are required to implement SolarAPP+ or a functionally equivalent online automated permitting platform pursuant to this measure; 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 Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2614, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2614, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair