SB2711

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Public Utilities Commission Intervenor Compensation Act of 2026".

SECTION 2. The legislature finds that public participation in proceedings before the public utilities commission is essential to informed regulatory decision-making that affects all residents of the State. The legislature finds, however, that public interest groups, community organizations, and individual consumers often lack the financial, legal, and technical resources necessary to effectively participate in public utilities commission proceedings. In contrast, utility companies typically possess extensive legal and technical resources to advance their positions, resulting in a structural imbalance in commission proceedings. The legislature further finds that this resource imbalance can result in regulatory capture, where decisions disproportionately favor utility interests over consumer protection, environmental stewardship, and advancement of public policy goals. The legislature believes that addressing this imbalance is particularly significant for the State, where informed and effective public interest participation is essential to advancing the State's renewable energy goals, maintaining affordable utility rates, and ensuring equitable access to utility services.

The legislature also finds that California and other states have successfully implemented intervenor compensation programs to level the playing field between community members and utility companies, leading to robust public participation and better-informed regulatory decision-making. California's intervenor compensation program has awarded hundreds of millions of dollars to public interest groups since its inception, enabling participation and effective advocacy that has resulted in billions of dollars in consumer savings and accelerated achievement of clean energy goals. Intervenor compensation programs in other jurisdictions have achieved more balanced representations of diverse stakeholder interests in regulatory proceedings, the introduction of technical expertise and evidence that would otherwise be unavailable to the respective public utilities commission, better informed commission decisions, improved consumer outcomes, and greater trust in the regulatory process.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to establish an intervenor compensation program to reimburse qualified intervenors for reasonable costs incurred for making substantial contributions in proceedings before the public utilities commission.

SECTION 3. Chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Part . intervenor compensation program

§269- Definitions. As used in this part:

"Commission" means the public utilities commission.

"Intervenor" means any person, other than an original party, admitted as a party in a commission proceeding.

"Person" has the same meaning as defined in section 91-1.

"Reasonable costs" includes costs for legal representation, expert witnesses, consultants, technical assistance, administrative, document reproduction, travel to attend hearings and working group meetings, and other necessary professional services at rates not exceeding prevailing market rates for similar services.

"Significant financial hardship" means that the payment of reasonable costs would impose an unreasonable burden on the intervenor considering the intervenor's financial resources and the nature of the intervenor's interest in the proceeding.

"Substantial contribution" means presentation of evidence, legal argument, or expert testimony that materially assists the commission in reaching its decision.

§269- Intervenor compensation program; established; qualification criteria. (a) The commission shall establish an intervenor compensation program to reimburse qualified intervenors for reasonable costs incurred from making a substantial contribution to a commission proceeding.

(b) To qualify for reimbursement, an intervenor shall:

(1) Represent consumer, environmental, renewable energy, community, or other public interests;

(2) Demonstrate that participation in the commission proceeding without reimbursement for reasonable costs would impose significant financial hardship on the intervenor; provided that for nonprofit organizations, determination of significant financial hardship shall consider the organization's overall budget, other funding sources, and mission priorities;

(3) Make a substantial contribution to a commission proceeding;

(4) Not have a commercial interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the commission proceeding; and

(5) Not have an alternative source of funding available for the reimbursement of the reasonable costs.

(c) The following persons shall be presumed to have met the qualification criteria in subsection (b), unless rebutted by evidence to the contrary:

(1) Nonprofit organizations with annual budgets under $5,000,000 whose mission includes utility consumer protection, environmental advocacy, or renewable energy advancement;

(2) Community organizations representing low-income, Native Hawaiian, or environmental justice communities;

(3) Academic institutions or researchers providing independent technical analysis; and

(4) Individual ratepayers or small ratepayer groups without commercial interests in the outcome of the commission proceeding.

(d) Intervenor compensation shall be available for all commission proceedings, with particular emphasis on proceedings involving:

(1) General rate cases and revenue requirement determinations;

(2) Integrated resource planning and renewable energy procurement;

(3) Distributed energy resource programs and interconnection standards;

(4) Performance-based regulation and utility incentive mechanisms;

(5) Grid modernization and infrastructure investment; and

(6) Low-income customer programs and rate design.

§269- Reimbursement procedure. (a) An intervenor seeking reimbursement of reasonable costs shall file with the commission:

(1) A notice of intent to request reimbursement, no later than thirty days after being admitted as a party in the commission proceeding;

(2) A final request for reimbursement in the form of a motion, no later than sixty days after the issuance of the commission's final decision and order for the proceeding; provided that a proper filing of a final request for reimbursement shall include a detailed accounting of the reasonable costs incurred and a demonstration of the intervenor's substantial contribution to the proceeding; and

(3) Within sixty days of filing the notice of intent, an estimated budget of anticipated costs to enable early assessment of reasonableness and avoid disputes over costs recovery.

(b) Any opposing party may file and serve counter affidavits and a written statement of reasons in opposition to the motion in compliance with this chapter or rules adopted by the commission.

(c) The commission shall issue its determination on whether to grant, partially grant, or deny the motion no later than sixty days after the proper filing of the motion. The commission may authorize interim payments of up to five per cent of estimated reasonable costs upon showing of financial hardship and likelihood of substantial contribution, with final reconciliation upon completion of the proceeding. No reimbursement awarded shall exceed reasonable costs that were necessary for the intervenor's substantial contribution to the commission proceeding.

(d) All reimbursement of reasonable costs shall be funded through assessments imposed by the commission on the public utilities whose rates, charges, or operations are the subject of the commission proceeding, in proportion to each utility's interest in the proceeding. Any amounts assessed under this section shall be recoverable by the assessed utilities as regulatory commission expenses, subject to commission approval.

(e) The commission shall not impose arbitrary caps on total reimbursements available; provided that the commission may review the reasonableness of individual cost items to ensure that they are necessary for substantial contribution. The commission shall apply the same standards of reasonableness to intervenor costs as it applies to utility counsel and expert witness costs in commission proceedings.

(f) All motions for intervenor compensation, supporting documentation, and decisions of the commission on compensation requests shall be publicly available on the commission's website within ten business days of filing or issuance.

§269- Rules. No later than January 1, 2027, the commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary to carry out the purposes of this part. The rules shall, at a minimum, specify the qualification criteria, develop specific reimbursement procedures, and establish standards for determining substantial contribution. Standards for determining whether an intervenor has made a substantial contribution to a commission proceeding may include but are not limited to:

(1) Presentation of evidence or arguments not otherwise adequately presented by other parties;

(2) Introduction of expert testimony materially assisting the commission's analysis;

(3) Presentation of legal arguments clarifying significant issues before the commission;

(4) Advocacy that materially influences the commission's decision;

(5) Representation of constituencies whose interests would otherwise be underrepresented in the proceeding;

(6) Development or presentation of technical models, analyses, or methodologies that inform commission decision-making;

(7) Effective cross-examination of witnesses that clarifies critical issues;

(8) Facilitation of settlement negotiations or consensus-building among parties; and

(9) Participation in working groups or technical conferences that advances proceeding objectives.

The standards of substantial contribution shall be construed liberally to encourage public interest participation and shall not be applied to deny compensation solely because the commission did not adopt an intervenor's recommendation; provided that the intervenor's participation materially informed the commission's deliberations.

§269- Annual report. The commission shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations on the operations of the intervenor compensation program for the previous fiscal year, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session. The annual report shall detail at a minimum:

(1) The number of reimbursement requests and awards made;

(2) The total amount of reimbursements awarded and funding sources;

(3) The types of commission proceedings involving intervenor reimbursements;

(4) The assessment of the program's effectiveness, including analysis of whether program participation is achieving balanced representation across consumer, environmental, and community interests; and evaluation of consumer benefits resulting from intervenor participation, including estimated ratepayer savings, renewable energy advancement, and improved utility performance;

(5) Names of persons receiving compensation and their areas of representation;

(6) Average time from request submission to payment;

(7) Examples of substantial contributions made by compensated intervenors and resulting commission decisions;

(8) Comparison of intervenor compensation costs to total regulatory expenses and utility revenues at issue in commission proceedings; and

(9) Identification of barriers to participation and recommendations for program improvements."

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $500,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the establishment and initial administration of the intervenor compensation program by the public utilities commission, including development of rules, establish of procedures, outreach to potential participants, and administrative support.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the public utilities commission for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2711
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII