STAND. COM. REP. NO. 864-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: H.B. No. 2654

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 2654, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BUILDING CODES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Clarify that no state or county building code can prohibit the use of a substitute refrigerant allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency if the applicable equipment is listed and installed in compliance with any applicable safety standards and use conditions; and

(2) Require the State Building Code Council to establish codes and standards consistent with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with hydrofluorocarbons.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Building Decarbonization Task Force of the Hawaiʻi Environmental Change Agents; Kauaʻi Climate Action Coalition; Climate Protectors Hawaiʻi; Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute; and Environmental Investigation Agency.

Your Committee finds that hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are primarily used as refrigerants in air conditioners and refrigerators and are also used in applications such as fire suppressants, solvents, foam blowing agents, and aerosols. HFCs are greenhouse gases with global warming potentials that can be hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide. Their use has been rapidly increasing worldwide due to the global phaseout of ozone-depleting substances and increased demand for refrigeration and air conditioning. In many cases, alternatives are available or under development that are either non-fluorinated or are HFC and HFC blends with lower global warming potentials than the HFC or HFC blends they replace.

Your Committee further finds that the federal American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 7657) authorizes the United States Environmental Protection Agency to address HFCs by providing new authorities in three main areas: to phase down the production and consumption of listed HFCs, manage these HFCs and their substitutes, and facilitate the transition to next-generation technologies through sector-based restrictions. This measure ensures that substances determined to be appropriate refrigerant substitutes may be used in the State by eliminating the barrier posed by applicable building codes and standards.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2654, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________

MARK M. NAKASHIMA, Chair