STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2503

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2801

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 2801 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CERTIFICATION OF GAS TANKLESS WATER HEATERS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to condition the acceptance of a variance from the mandatory solar water heating requirement for single-family dwellings for a demand water heater device upon approval of the demand water heater by a North American certification organization, including the Canadian Standards Association International; Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute; or Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association Certification Program.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and Hawaii Solar Energy Association.

 

     Your Committee finds that an existing exemption from the mandatory solar water heating requirement for single-family dwellings allows for a gas tankless water heater, which must be approved by Underwriter Laboratories, Inc.  However, Underwriter Laboratories, Inc. does not list specific product or model numbers of all tankless products.  This measure replaces a reference to Underwriter Laboratories, Inc., with references to North American certification organizations that test, evaluate, and certify gas tankless water heaters and lists specific products and models that are certified, thereby enabling consumers to make a more informed choice regarding their selections of gas tankless water heaters.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2801 and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

 

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

 

 

 

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair