CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 134-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: H.B. No. 2743

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

C.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

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. 2743, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WASTEWATER,"

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) Authorize the counties to designate sewer improvement districts;

(2) Authorize the counties to assess a cesspool pollution fee on real properties containing a cesspool, beginning July 1, 2025;

(3) Authorize each county to establish a county cesspool closure and mitigation special fund;

(4) Authorize the counties to use cesspool pollution fee revenues or other revenues, including real property tax revenues, for certain activities that eliminate, reduce, or mitigate the impacts of cesspools, including the expansion of county sewer systems and the issuance of grants and low-interest loans to property owners; and

(5) Require and appropriate funds for the University of Hawaii Water Resources Research Center and the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program to develop an overlay with the Hawaii Cesspool Prioritization Tool to identify specific priority areas in which the county sewer system or other centralized treatment system could most feasibly be expanded or constructed to reduce or eliminate cesspools before January 1, 2050.

Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting all content except for the required development of an overlay with the Hawaii Cesspool Prioritization Tool and associated appropriation;

(2) Inserting an appropriation amount of $350,814 for development of the overlay;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2024; and

(4) 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. 2743, 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. 2743, 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

____________________________ MIKE GABBARD Chair	____________________________ NICOLE E. LOWEN Co-Chair
____________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA Co-Chair	____________________________ LINDA ICHIYAMA Co-Chair
____________________________ ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY Co-Chair	____________________________ MAHINA POEPOE Co-Chair
____________________________ CHRIS LEE Co-Chair