STAND. COM. REP. NO.  174

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2011

 

RE:   H.B. No. 1473

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 1473 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to provide an environmentally friendly strategy for the lighting of Hawaii's roads and highways by requiring the installation of fully or partially shielded lens fixtures on all outdoor lighting to direct the lighting downward.

 

The University of Hawaii System, Department of Design and Construction of the City and County of Honolulu (DDC), Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, and Hawaii Starlight Reserve Committee testified in support of the intent of this bill.  The Department of Transportation (DOT) opposed this measure.

 

     The use of fully or partially shielded lighting fixtures on Hawaii's roadways and highways will conserve energy and resources while maintaining appropriate outdoor lighting suitable for safety, utility, and security.  These types of fixtures are also environmentally friendly and reduce the impact of non-shielded roadway lighting on endangered species.

 

     Although your Committee appreciates the fact that the installation of fully and partially shielded lights has fiscal implications for DOT, this matter deserves further discussion.

 

     Additionally, your Committee was informed by DDC that use of the terms "full-cutoff" and "semi-cutoff" rather than "fully shielded" and "partially shielded" would be more consistent with Illuminating Engineering Society of North America street illumination standards currently used for roadway lighting.

 

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

 

     (1)  Changing the terms "fully shielded" and "partially shielded" to the terms "full-cutoff" and "semi-cutoff," respectively; and

 

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

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1473, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1473, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair