STAND. COM. REP. 944

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 506

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 506 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GEOTHERMAL ROYALTIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to provide a dedicated source of funding for hydrogen research and development by allocating $250,000 per year of the State's royalties from geothermal resources to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT).

The Hawaii Renewable Energy Alliance and the Sierra Club, Hawaii Chapter, supported this measure. DBEDT and the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) commented on this measure.

Your Committee understands that royalties received by the State from geothermal resources fluctuates from year to year based on production levels. Your Committee further understands that a minimum amount of royalties collected by the State cannot be guaranteed and that there is no way to ensure that a transfer of funds to DBEDT will not negatively impact DLNR's ability to manage geothermal resources.

DBEDT and DLNR recommended an allocation of $100,000 of the State's portion of geothermal royalties to DBEDT for each year of the fiscal biennium 2003-2005 to be used as the State's cost share for the Hawaii Hydrogen Power Park Project. This is a three-phase $3,000,000 project for the design and installation of an integrated hydrogen and fuel cell system.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Removing language allocating $250,000 per year of the State's portion of the royalties from geothermal resources to fund hydrogen research and development as an alternative energy source;

(2) Appropriating $100,000 out of the Special Land and

Development Fund for fiscal year 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 to be used as the State's cost share for the Hawaii Hydrogen Power Park project through phases 2 and 3; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of style and clarity.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 506, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 506, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

 

____________________________

HERMINA M. MORITA, Chair