STAND. COM. REP. NO. 664

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2023

RE: H.B. No. 913

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 913 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE NATURAL ENERGY LABORATORY OF HAWAII AUTHORITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Amend the statutory duties of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority;

(2) Requires the Authority to conduct certain activities in a culturally sensitive and environmentally responsible manner and to engage in community outreach and education; and

(3) Amend the membership of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority Board of Directors by requiring one board member to represent the University of Hawaii Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and one member to be a cultural practitioner from the ahupuaa of Ooma or Kalaoa.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i Reef and Ocean Coalition, Pono Advocacy, Hawaii Island Ocean Advocates, and two individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority.

Your Committee finds that the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority administers the Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology Park, the world's premier energy and ocean technology park, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. This facility brings ashore high quality, pristine supplies of warm surface and cold deep seawater twenty-four hours a day, allowing for various tests to take place. This measure aligns the efforts of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority with culturally appropriate and environmentally responsible guidelines as it continues to explore the economic potentials of energy and ocean technologies.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority is required to conduct certain activities in an environmentally responsible and culturally appropriate manner;

(2) Requiring all research proposals involving live animals to be reviewed by the University of Hawaii Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee prior to any lease approval;

(3) Clarifying that the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority's duties include engaging in community outreach and education in west Hawaii island to promote workforce development in science, technology, engineering, math, and aquaculture industries;

(4) Deleting language that would have required the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority to provide a space and opportunities for culturally appropriate gatherings, education, and community engagement to preserve the history of Keahole Point and the ahupuaa of Ooma and Kalaoa;

(5) Deleting language that would have amended the membership of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority to require one board member to represent the University of Hawaii Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and one member to be a cultural practitioner from the ahupuaa of Ooma or Kalaoa;

(6) Changing the effective date to June 30, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 913, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 913, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection,

____________________________

NICOLE E. LOWEN, Chair