Bill Text: HI HCR198 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Concurrent Resolution 198 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Requesting The Legislature To Convene A Working Group To Discuss The Economic Growth Potential Of Investing In Green Industry Initiatives.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-25 - Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cabanilla Arakawa, Creagan, Eli, Holt, Nakamura, Quinlan excused (6). [HCR198 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-HCR198-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	198
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the legislature to convene a working group to discuss the economic growth potential of investing in green industry initiatives.

WHEREAS, a 2017 study published in the Journal of Coastal Conservation found that at least eight islands in the Pacific Ocean have disappeared due to "uncommonly rapid sea-level rise"; and

WHEREAS, greenhouse gas emissions must be dramatically reduced by almost half by 2030 to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change; and

WHEREAS, economic analyses have shown that in the near term, increases in infrastructure spending would significantly boost economic activity and employment and have the potential to increase public and private sector productivity growth in the long term; and

WHEREAS, from 1933 to 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched an economic policy that included massive investments in public infrastructure and specific industries that transformed the economy; these projects successfully brought the economy out of the Great Depression while simultaneously providing much-needed advances in rural electrification, the federal highway system, hydrologic dam systems, space exploration, and nuclear energy; and

WHEREAS, Green Industry Initiative, as defined by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), creates awareness, knowledge, and capacities, and the UNIDO works with governments to support industrial institutions that in turn provide assistance to enterprises and entrepreneurs in all aspects relating to the greening of the industry; and

WHEREAS, the implementation of a carbon tax, waste management, infrastructure efficiency upgrades, and other items that arise because of climate change will require thorough investigation and analysis before becoming law; and

WHEREAS, the implementation of climate change solutions will simultaneously boost the local economy and make Hawai�i a global leader in sustainability; and

WHEREAS, delaying action to mitigate the effects of climate change will only transfer the costs to vulnerable populations, state budgets, and businesses; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature is requested to convene a working group to discuss the economic growth potential of investing in Green Industry Initiatives, including discussing solutions to climate change for Hawai�i; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to include:

(1) The Governor, or the Governor's designee;

(2) The Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Environment, or the Chairperson's designee;

(3) The Chairperson of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, or the Chairperson's designee;

(4) The Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts, or the Chairperson's designee;

(5) The Chairperson of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Labor & Public Employment, or the Chairperson's designee;

(6) The Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Ways and Means, or the Chairperson's designee;

(7) The Chairperson of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Finance, or the Chairperson's designee;

(8) The Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, or the Chairperson's designee;

(9) The Chairperson of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, or the Chairperson's designee;

(10) A representative of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, to be selected by the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations;

(11) A representative of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, to be selected by the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism;

(12) A representative of the Department of Health, to be selected by the Director of Health;

(13) A representative of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, to be selected by the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources;

(14) A representative of the Department of Taxation, to be selected by the Director of Taxation;

(15) A representative of the Hawaii State AFL-CIO; and

(16) A representative of Hui Ku Maoli Ola; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to address the following:

(1) Implementation of a carbon tax and any additional sources of funding towards statewide sustainability measures;

(2) Comprehensive waste management, including local municipal recycling facilities and the development of state-run recycling facilities for glass, plastic, and other waste products;

(3) Efficiency upgrades for infrastructure and public buildings, including:

(A) Burying power lines when they need to be replaced;

(B) Upgrading to net zero energy buildings; and

(4) Planning for managed retreat from inundation zones and vulnerable coastal areas;

(5) Expanding sustainable farming and soil practices in thirty percent of agricultural land by 2030 and seventy percent of agricultural land by 2050;

(6) Developing job training for workforce transition to green jobs;

(7) Developing models for community-controlled and community-owned renewable energy generation with justice-based transitions that make sure no worker is left behind, similar to the Kauai Co-op model;

(8) Upgrading vehicles, including a transition to electric vehicles and renewable transit by 2030, and building electrical vehicle charging stations;

(9) Restoration of forests and wetlands and cleanup of all brownfields and hazardous sites; and

(10) Any other effects of climate change that the working group deems necessary to examine; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to convene no later than July 1, 2019, and to hold monthly meetings thereafter; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2020; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the Director of Health, the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Director of Taxation, the President of the Hawaii State AFL-CIO, and Hui Ku Maoli Ola.