STAND. COM. REP. NO.  86-16

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2016

 

RE:   H.B. No. 2569

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 2569 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENERGY,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to accelerate the goals of the Department of Education to cool Hawaii's schools, reduce energy costs, meet the State's clean energy goals, and provide all students with better classrooms in which to learn by, among other things:

 

     (1)  Requiring the Department of Education to establish a goal of becoming net-zero with respect to energy use, producing as much renewable energy as it consumes across all public school facilities, by January 1, 2035;

 

     (2)  Requiring the Department of Education to establish a minimum of two microgrid pilot projects at schools that also serve as civil defense shelters;

 

     (3)  Requiring the Department of Education to expedite the cooling of all public school classrooms to a temperature acceptable for student learning, including reporting to the Legislature about the implementation of such measures; and

 

     (4)  Authorizing the Director of Finance to issue general obligation bonds to implement cooling measures in public school classrooms.

 

     The Blue Planet Foundation and numerous concerned individuals supported this measure.  The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and Department of Budget and Finance supported the intent of the measure.  The Department of Education and Hawaii State Teachers Association supported the measure with amendments.  The State Adjutant General submitted comments.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Making an emergency appropriation of $100,000,000 out of the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Special Fund to be loaned to the Department of Education and Department of Budget and Finance;

 

     (2)  Making an appropriation of $7,000,000 for the initial loan repayment for the moneys borrowed from the Green Infrastructure Loan Program;

 

     (3)  Making an emergency appropriation of $30,000,000 in general obligation bonds for capital improvement program equipment and installation costs for air conditioning, other heat abatement measures, energy-efficient lighting, and other energy-efficiency measures related to heat abatement at public schools;

 

     (4)  Requiring the Department of Education to establish in each county a minimum of one microgrid pilot project at public schools that also serve as emergency shelters;

 

     (5)  Requiring the Department of Education in its report to the Legislature on its implementation of measures to cool public school classrooms, to report on the costs per school rather than the cost per classroom;

 

     (6)  Requiring the Department of Education to work in conjunction with "the administrator or director of the county emergency management agency affected", rather than State Civil Defense, when examining the pilot projects; and

 

     (7)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for 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. 2569, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2569, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Education.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

____________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair