CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 101

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2017

 

RE:    S.B. No. 559

       S.D. 1

       H.D. 2

       C.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

 

Sirs:

 

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 559, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CLIMATE CHANGE,"

 

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:

 

     (1)  Document the State's commitment to combat climate change by systematically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving our resiliency to climate change aligned with the principles and contributing to the goals set by the Paris Agreement;

 

     (2)  Rename the Interagency Climate Adaptation Committee as the Hawaii Climate Commission; and

 

     (3)  Require the Hawaii Climate Commission to develop sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation reports and to take the lead on the establishment and implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.

 

     Your Committee on Conference finds that not only is climate change real, but it is the overriding challenge of the 21st century and one of the priority issues of the Senate.  Your Committee on Conference also finds that on December 12, 2015, one hundred ninety-five countries at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted an agreement addressing greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance starting in the year 2020, known as the Paris Agreement.  Your Committee on Conference supports the goals of the Paris Agreement to combat climate change and its effects on environments, economies, and communities around the world and finds it necessary that the State expand its efforts to further mitigate Hawaii's greenhouse gas emissions and adopt strategies to minimize the impact of climate change on Hawaii's people and environment.

 

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Amending the title of chapter 225P, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to read, "Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Initiative";

 

     (2)  Renaming the Hawaii Climate Commission as the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission (Commission);

 

     (3)  Deleting certain references to section 225P-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

 

     (4)  Inserting a general fund appropriation amount of $40,000 for fiscal years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, rather than the Department of Accounting and General Services, for the purposes of this measure;

 

     (5)  Inserting a general fund appropriation amount of $65,000 for fiscal years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 to the Department of Land and Natural Resources for the establishment of one full-time equivalent (1.00 FTE) climate change mitigation and adaptation coordinator position to support the Commission;

 

     (6)  Making the climate change mitigation and adaptation coordinator position exempt from chapter 76, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

 

     (7)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2017; and

 

     (8)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     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 S.B. No. 559, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 559, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, C.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

 

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

 

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

 

____________________________

CHRIS LEE

Co-Chair

 

____________________________

MIKE GABBARD

Chair

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE

Co-Chair

 

____________________________

DONNA MERCADO KIM

Co-Chair

____________________________

NICOLE E. LOWEN

Co-Chair

 

____________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE

Co-Chair

 

 

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH

Co-Chair