HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

155

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the department of business, economic development, and tourism to convene a task force to develop recommendations to divest public investments from fossil fuels.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, as of 2012 the world's average surface temperature has risen by 0.8 degrees Celsius, contributing to the global warming of the planet and an unsustainable future; and

 

     WHEREAS, increases in fossil fuel investments contribute to the harming of the environment and the planet through global warming; and

 

     WHEREAS, divestment is a market-based solution that can help protect taxpayers from having public funds used for purposes that may actually unintentionally harm them; and

 

     WHEREAS, major cities such as Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, Boulder, Santa Fe, Madison, and dozens of others around the country, major investment trusts and foundations such as the Rockefeller foundation, religious institutions such as the United Church of Christ, universities such as Stanford University, and more than eight hundred other major global investors have already pledged to withdraw a total of $50,000,000,000 from fossil fuel investments over the next five years; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is the mission of the State to support its beneficiaries without harming taxpayers, yet the system currently invests public funds in fossil fuel companies that are contributing to rising costs to taxpayers; and

 

     WHEREAS, fossil fuel companies are a significant source of greenhouse gases that accelerate climate change, against which the State will need to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to address in coming decades; and

 

     WHEREAS, fossil fuel investments can be extremely volatile, and fossil fuels such as oil are subject to wide fluctuations in price due to global politics and demand outside of the State's control, making them increasingly risky investments in the long run; and

 

     WHEREAS, increased technological advances are providing opportunities to transition away from fossil fuels and strengthen the role renewable energy sources play in the State's long-term energy policy; and

 

     WHEREAS, divesting from fossil fuel investments is one of the only ways that the State may have an impact on an industry that is contributing to problems that affect the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, with protections to ensure that there is no negative impact on investments to meet earning obligations, there is no reason not to act; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to convene a task force to develop recommendations to divest public investments from fossil fuels; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to form the task force with representatives from the following entities:

 

(1)  The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism;

 

(2)  The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations;

 

(3)  The Employees' Retirement System;

 

(4)  The University of Hawaii;

 

(5)  Investors with experience in non-fossil fuel investments and portfolios; and

 

(6)  Other sectors of the community, as determined by the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force, through the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, is requested to submit findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2016; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Director of the Employees' Retirement System of the State of Hawaii, and the President of the University of Hawaii system.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

DBEDT; Divestiture