Hawaii-2021-HB1142-Amended

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the human-induced global climate crisis requires thoughtful but bold responses on multiple fronts to make Hawaii communities resilient to the impacts of storms, floods, fire, and sea—level rise that threaten the very survivability of these fragile islands. Hawaii has historically played a critical leadership role in the areas of labor, justice, equity, and the environment. In addition to adopting a statewide carbon neutrality goal, Hawaii was the first state in the nation to adopt a one hundred per cent renewable electricity requirement and the first state to commit to the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Hawaii's one hundred per cent renewable electricity goal has been emulated by other states and territories, demonstrating that Hawaii's actions on climate change can influence broader actions beyond the islands' shores.

The legislature further finds that Hawaii is nearly one hundred per cent dependent on imported petroleum for its ground transportation needs. Hawaii residents, businesses, and visitors spent over $1,700,000,000 on gasoline in 2019 and the combustion of that fuel released over ten billion pounds of climate—changing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. While carbon pollution from Hawaii's energy sector has decreased over the past decade, carbon pollution from Hawaii's ground transportation sector has increased ten per cent. Existing policy measures have not meaningfully reduced carbon pollution from Hawaii's ground transportation sector.

The legislature believes that electric vehicles play an integral role in Hawaii's clean energy future. Electric vehicles are much less expensive to operate per mile than their gasoline counterparts. By using stored electrical energy, electric vehicles can take advantage of intermittent solar, wind, and other clean energy resources. With the continued growth of an intelligent electrical grid, electric vehicles have become an essential component to electricity load and clean energy resource balancing. They also provide clean mobility solutions for Hawaii residents and visitors.

The legislature further finds that, in Hawaii and elsewhere in the world, the lack of adequate vehicle charging infrastructure has become a major barrier to increasing adoption of electric vehicles. The International Energy Agency has found that "the availability of chargers emerged as one of the key factors for contributing to the market penetration of [electric vehicles]." Many parking facilities connected to high density, multi-family dwellings, which are a home to a large share of the Hawaii population, do not accommodate electric vehicle charging stations. Exacerbating the adoption barrier is that more than eighty per cent of electric vehicle owners charge their cars at home or work.

The purpose of this Act is to allocate three cents of the barrel tax to fund the electric vehicle charging system rebate program established under sections 269—72 and 269‑73, Hawaii Revised Statutes. The program is intended to be self-financing and not increase expenditures from or reduce revenues into the general fund.

SECTION 2. Section 243-3.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) In addition to any other taxes provided by law, subject to the exemptions set forth in section 243-7, there is hereby imposed a state environmental response, energy, and food security tax on each barrel or fractional part of a barrel of petroleum product sold by a distributor to any retail dealer or end user of petroleum product, other than a refiner. The tax shall be $1.05 on each barrel or fractional part of a barrel of petroleum product that is not aviation fuel; provided that of the tax collected pursuant to this subsection:

(1) 5 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be deposited into the environmental response revolving fund established under section 128D-2;

(2) [5] 4 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be deposited into the energy security special fund established under section 201-12.8;

(3) [10] 8 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be deposited into the energy systems development special fund established under section 304A-2169.1; [~~and~~]

(4) 15 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be deposited into the agricultural development and food security special fund established under section 141-10[.]; and

(5) 3 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be deposited into the electric vehicle charging system subaccount of the public utilities commission special fund established under section 269-33.

The tax imposed by this subsection shall be paid by the distributor of the petroleum product."

SECTION 3. Section 269-33, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§269-33 Public utilities commission special fund. (a) There is established in the state treasury a public utilities commission special fund to be administered by the public utilities commission. The proceeds of the fund shall be used by the public utilities commission and the division of consumer advocacy of the department of commerce and consumer affairs for all expenses incurred in the administration of chapters 269, 271, 271G, 269E, and 486J, and for costs incurred by the department of commerce and consumer affairs to fulfill the department's limited oversight and administrative support functions; provided that the expenditures of the public utilities commission shall be in accordance with legislative appropriations. On a quarterly basis, an amount not exceeding thirty per cent of the proceeds remaining in the fund after the deduction for central service expenses, pursuant to section 36‑27, shall be allocated by the public utilities commission to the division of consumer advocacy and deposited in the compliance resolution fund established pursuant to section 26-9(o); provided that all moneys allocated by the public utilities commission from the fund to the division of consumer advocacy shall be in accordance with legislative appropriations.

(b) All moneys appropriated to, received, and collected by the public utilities commission that are not otherwise pledged, obligated, or required by law to be placed in any other special fund or expended for any other purpose shall be deposited into the public utilities commission special fund including, but not limited to, all moneys received and collected by the public utilities commission pursuant to sections 92-21, 243-3.5, 269‑28, 269-30, 271-27, 271-36, 271G-19, 269E-6, 269E-14, and 607-5.

(c) The public utilities commission shall submit an update as part of its annual report submitted pursuant to section 269-5 detailing all funds received and all moneys disbursed out of the fund.

(d) All moneys in excess of $1,000,000 remaining on balance in the public utilities commission special fund on June 30 of each year shall lapse to the credit of the state general fund.

(e) There is established within the public utilities commission special fund an electric vehicle charging system subaccount. The public utilities commission shall expend moneys in the subaccount for the electric vehicle charging system rebate program established pursuant to sections 269-72 and 269‑73."

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050; provided that this Act shall be repealed on June 30, 2030, and sections 243-3.5 and 269-33, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which they read on June 30, 2021.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1142
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021		H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 2