Bill Text: HI HR131 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urging The Office Of Environmental Quality Control, In Cooperation With The Department Of The Attorney General And The Legislative Reference Bureau, To Prepare Environmental And Legal Opinions Of Future State Regulations And Legislation That Might Be Deemed Necessary To Combat Climate Change And Prevent The Regression Of Environmental Protection.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-29 - Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Aquino, Oshiro, Say, Thielen excused (4). [HR131 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2017-HR131-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	131
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the office of environmental quality control, in cooperation with the department of the attorney general and the legislative reference bureau, to prepare environmental and legal opinions of FUTURE state regulations and legislation THAT MIGHT BE DEEMED NECESSARY to combat climate change and prevent the regression of ENVIRONMENTAL protection.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, during the early stages of this administration, the President of the United States has repeatedly expressed disdain for government regulations of all types; and

 

     WHEREAS, the President has demonstrated particular contempt for environmental regulations, and the President's administration has illogically criticized the science that supports environmental protections and regulations and dismissed findings made by climate science researchers; and

 

     WHEREAS, the administration recently appointed Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency; and

 

WHEREAS, Pruitt is unqualified, and has made a career of defending corporate polluters and blocking environmental protection by litigating against the agency he now leads; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Trump administration stated it would like to cut the staff of the Environmental Protection Agency in half, appoint well-known climate change deniers to lead the Environmental Protection Agency transition team, and called the concept of man-made climate change a "hoax"; and

 

     WHEREAS, for a number of years, scientific research points to various human activities that contribute toward climate change, such as through an increase in production of greenhouse gasses; and

     WHEREAS, the drastic increase in the emission of carbon dioxide within the last 30 years caused by the burning of fossil fuels has been identified as a major contributor to the rising temperature in the atmosphere; and

 

     WHEREAS, a survey held in 2014 among 1,868 scientists studying various aspects of climate change to determine the scientist's views on the attribution of global warming to various man-made and natural causes, found that over 90 percent of respondents explicitly agreed that man-made greenhouse gases are a dominant driver of recent global warming; and

 

     WHEREAS, scientists are now noting the effects of global warming on the earth's environment, including the loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise, and longer, more intense heat waves; and

 

     WHEREAS, global warming can pose potential threats that place a great amount of risk to human life, health, and welfare, such as the reduction of crop yields, decline in marine productivity, and expansion of animal populations that carry diseases; and

 

     WHEREAS, with overwhelming scientific evidence revealing the extent to which human activities have adversely affected earth's climate, it is of vital importance that the State recognizes the scientific data on climate change and take steps to mitigate any shortcomings or regulation roll backs implemented by our current federal administration; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, that the Office of Environmental Quality Control, in coordination with the Department of the Attorney General, is urged to prepare environmental and legal opinions of future state regulations that might be deemed necessary to combat climate change and prevent the regression of environmental protection; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Environmental Quality Control, in coordination with the Legislative Reference Bureau, is requested to complete a study of the potential legislation needed to maintain climate change environmental protection; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Environmental Quality Control, in coordination with the Department of the Attorney General and the Legislative Reference Bureau, submit a report of its findings, analyses, and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2018; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Environmental Quality Control, the Attorney General, the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau, and members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Environmental Protection; Climate Change