STAND. COM. REP. NO. 682-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2284

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 2284, H.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Establish and appropriate funds for the Hawaii Home Energy Assistance Program within the Department of Human Services to assist qualifying households in paying their energy bills; and

(2) Require the Public Utilities Commission Public Benefits Fee Administrator to provide certain information and assistance to recipients of the program.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services; Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Public Utilities Commission; Office of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resiliency of the City and County of Honolulu; Hawaiian Electric; Imua Alliance; Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative; Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi; and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii households face significant energy burden. In 2024, over twenty percent of households in the State reported foregoing critical expenses, such as food or medicine, to pay their energy bill in full. The State ranked fifth in the nation for highest average household electricity burden, and households living below the federal poverty level spent approximately twenty percent of their income on electricity costs, over nine times higher than the state average. Relatedly, disconnection rates more than doubled from approximately five thousand nine hundred in 2018 to roughly twelve thousand eight hundred in 2023.

Your Committee further finds that the existing federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance remains woefully inadequate, as the formula for allocating funding favors states with high heating needs, while ignoring electricity price differences and Hawaii's unique challenges. This measure addresses the gap between federal assistance and the actual needs of Hawaii households by establishing a state energy assistance program under a more equitable energy assistance framework.

Your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider an appropriation amount of $1,500,000.

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. 2284, H.D. 1, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

SCOT Z. MATAYOSHI, Chair