STAND. COM. REP. NO. 822

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 390

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 390, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENERGY RESOURCES,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to clarify provisions of Act 204, Session Laws of Hawaii 2008, which requires the installation of a solar water heater on a single-family dwelling for which a building permit is issued after January 1, 2010.

 

     Specifically, this measure:

 

(1)  Clarifies that the solar water heater mandate applies only to new single family dwellings;

 

(2)  Authorizes the public benefits fee administrator, instead of the energy resources coordinator, to approve a variance to the solar water heater requirement and requires the public benefits fee administrator to make the variance applications and determinations public; and

    

(3)  Directs the public benefits fee administrator to conduct a "post-installation verification inspection of the water heating technology".

 

     Your Committee finds that this measure clarifies the provisions of Act 204, Session Laws of Hawaii 2008.  Your Committee also finds that delegating the responsibility for approving variances and conducting compliance inspections to the public benefits fee administrator will take advantage of the administrator's advanced knowledge of solar energy technologies and water heating technologies as it applies to determining variance applications.

 

Your Committee recognizes that opinions differ on whether or not to allow gas-tankless water heaters to remain an allowable alternative to solar water heaters.  Accordingly, your Committee finds that this issue merits further discussion and urges subsequent committees that may consider this bill to continue to explore this issue.

 

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

(1)  Changing the effective date to January 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on this measure; and

 

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

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 390, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 390, S.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

____________________________

DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair