CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 60

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2015

RE:    H.B. No. 1513

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 2

       C.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Sir and Madam:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 1513, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENERGY,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this measure is to support local companies in Hawaii that conduct renewable energy research and development through existing contracts with the principal research division of the United States Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research, by establishing a matching grant program.

Specifically, the measure:

     (1)  Establishes a two-year Alternative Energy Research and Development Pilot Program under the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to provide grants to qualified businesses that conduct research and development on alternative energy;

     (2)  Establishes the Alternative Energy Research and Development Revolving Fund; and

     (3)  Appropriates unspecified sums from the general fund to the Alternative Energy Research and Development Revolving Fund in fiscal years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 to be used for providing grants during the two-year pilot program.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended the measure by:

     (1)  Providing that a business is ineligible to receive a grant under the Alternative Energy Research and Development Pilot Program if the business has obtained any other state grant for the same research;

     (2)  Appropriating $1,000,000 from the general fund to the Alternative Energy Research and Development Revolving Fund in fiscal years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 to be used for providing grants during the two-year pilot program; and

     (3)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2015.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1513, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1513, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

____________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair	____________________________ CHRIS LEE, Co-Chair
____________________________ JILL N. TOKUDA, Co-Chair	____________________________ NICOLE E. LOWEN, Co-Chair