Bill Text: HI SB3325 | 2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Carbon Sequestration Incentives.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2022-06-27 - Act 185, on 06/27/2022 (Gov. Msg. No. 1286). [SB3325 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2022-SB3325-Amended.html
THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
3325 |
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 |
S.D. 2 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO CARBON SEQUESTRATION INCENTIVES.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that climate change has led to an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events. These events serve to only complicate the already increased risks associated with the Hawaiian islands, which are the world's most isolated populated land masses. Extreme weather events put greater stress on the State's vulnerable food supply chain and water supplies. The potential for shortages highlights the State's need for greater food and water security, which can be achieved by increasing local food production.
The legislature further finds that Hawaii needs to reduce its contribution to climate change, increase local food production, improve soil health, and secure resilient water sources. Furthermore, in addition to cutting emissions from burning carbon, Hawaii needs to mitigate climate change by sequestering greenhouse gases through regenerative agriculture and forest preservation. Incentivizing nature-based actions that improve soil health and are carbon-positive provides rich and diverse co-benefits, for example, restoring, maintaining, and improving landscape soil health and water security through payment-for-services programs. These programs would allow small farmers, ranchers, foresters, and landowners to be compensated for taking measures to help Hawaii reach its climate readiness goals.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to establish a farmland and forest soil health carbon smart incentive program that will promote keeping forests and farmlands intact and sequestering additional carbon on the lands.
SECTION 2. Section 225P-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§225P-6 [Carbon
offset program. (a)
The office of planning and sustainable development in partnership with
the greenhouse gas sequestration task force shall investigate and establish a
carbon offset program that:
(1) Provides expertise in
carbon offsetting to public agencies and private entities and assists in
coordinating carbon offset projects of public agencies, including but not
limited to the generation, certification, and marketing of carbon credits;
(2) Allows for
proceeds and revenues generated by state departments from sales of offset
credits to be deposited into suitable funds particularly for reinvestment to
generate further carbon offset credits; provided that the funds are used in
accordance with the purposes of the fund;
(3) Allows for proceeds
and revenues generated by state agencies from sales of carbon credits other
than as described in paragraph (2) to be invested in projects enhancing the
State's efforts to mitigate or adapt to climate change; and
(4) Is consistent
with the State's sustainability goals and policies.
(b)
The office of planning and sustainable development in partnership with
the greenhouse gas sequestration task force shall submit a report of its
findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the
legislature and the climate change mitigation and adaptation commission no
later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2020.
(c) As used in this section:
"Carbon credit" means a
tradable certificate or permit issued by a carbon registry that represents a
greenhouse gas reduction or greenhouse gas removal enhancement that is
equivalent to one metric ton of carbon dioxide and meets the requirements of
the carbon offset program.
"Carbon offset" means a
compensatory measure made by an agency, business, or individual to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions or to increase carbon dioxide sequestration.
"Carbon
registry" means any established international, national, or regional
carbon registry program that serves voluntary or compliance markets, provides
an independent carbon standard to verify and certify carbon offsets, and issues
carbon credits.] Hawaii farmland and forest
soil health carbon smart incentive program. (a) There is established
within the office of planning and sustainable development the Hawaii farmland
and forest soil health carbon smart incentive program to incentivize carbon
sequestration activities through incentive contracts that provide compensation
for eligible practices by program participants.
(b) The office shall:
(1) Administer or enter
into an agreement or agreements for the administration of the program;
(2) Coordinate with
relevant agencies to provide financial incentive payments to owners and lessees
of eligible land for eligible practices over a designated period, with
appropriate crediting for soil health and carbon benefits as specified in an incentive
contract;
(3) Establish and implement
protocols to monitor and verify compliance with the terms of incentive contracts;
(4) Make available to the public any modeling, methodology, or protocol resources
developed to estimate the sequestration rates of potential projects;
(5) Identify,
evaluate, and distribute dedicated moneys to accomplish the purposes of the
program; and
(6) Coordinate collaborations
related to soil health and carbon sequestration modeling, methods, and inventory
improvements.
(c) The office,
with assistance from relevant agencies, shall establish compensation rates and incentive
contract terms for phase I activities within one year of the date of receipt of
a program application. An incentive
contract shall be for a term of no less than one year and no longer than thirty
years, as determined by the owner or lessee; provided that the length of the
contract term shall directly correlate with the rate of compensation paid
pursuant to the contract.
(d) The office shall coordinate with relevant agencies
to assist the office in carrying out the purposes of the program, including:
(1) Estimating sequestration rates for phase
I and phase II activities;
(2) Conducting
research to develop the technical underpinnings of compensation rates for phase
II activities; and
(3) Conducting
community and landowner outreach activities.
(e) The greenhouse gas sequestration task force shall establish a review
committee to review program applications and shall submit a report to the
legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session
of 2023 and each regular session thereafter providing:
(1) An estimate of the annual
and cumulative reductions achieved as a result of the program, determined by
using standardized measures, including measures of economic efficiency;
(2) A
summary of any changes to the program made as a result of program measurement,
monitoring, and verification; and
(3) The
total number of acres enrolled in the program.
(f) Landowners and lessees of eligible land may
enter into an incentive contract upon approval of a program application on a form
prepared by the office. An owner of eligible
land currently engaged in eligible practices shall not:
(1) Be barred from entering into an incentive
contract under this part to continue carrying out those eligible practices;
(2) Be
prohibited from participating in the program due to the owner or lessee's participation
in other federal or state conservation assistance programs; or
(3) Be required to provide
conservation easements.
(g) Priority shall
be given to phase I and phase II activities that:
(1) Are cost effective;
(2) Provide
co-benefits to the State and the owner or lessee of eligible land;
(3) Have
the potential to create jobs in the forestry or agriculture sectors, and in
rural communities; and
(4) Achieve
community priorities, including food security or watershed protection.
(h) On an annual basis, the department of land and natural
resources shall:
(1) Identify and
prioritize selected soil health and carbon-positive activities;
(2) Recommend compensation
rates and contract terms for eligible phase I activities;
(3) Assist in estimating
sequestration rates for carbon- positive practices;
(4) Serve on the review
committee for program applications and reports;
(5) Research and develop
the technical underpinnings of compensation rates for phase II activities; and
(6) Conduct community
and landowner outreach activities.
(i) The department of land and natural resources shall
also identify co-benefits that may include:
(1) Job creation;
(2) Food security and
agriculture for local consumption;
(3) Water security;
(4) Increased biodiversity;
(5) Soil health; and
(6) Invasive species
reduction and
removal.
(j) As used in this section:
"Eligible land" means land in the State that is privately owned
or public land that is leased to a private citizen at the time of initiation of
an incentive contract.
"Eligible
practices" means practices on eligible land that increase soil health, reduce
carbon emissions, and promote carbon sequestration and storage over a
designated period.
"Incentive
contract" means a contract that specifies the following:
(1) The eligible
practices to be undertaken;
(2) The acreage of
eligible land;
(3) The established
rate of compensation;
(4) A schedule to
verify that the terms of the contract have been fulfilled; and
(5) Other terms as the office deems necessary.
"Office" means the office
of planning and sustainable development.
"Phase I activities" means activities identified as having a
high likelihood of effectively achieving durable sequestration benefits at
reasonable compensation rates across eligible land types, including:
(1) One-time establishment
and yearly monitoring activities that include:
(A) Reforestation;
(B) Windbreaks;
(C) Conservation
tillage and reduced field pass intensity;
(D) Improved
forages; and
(E) Control
of invasive species; and
(2) Yearly investment
activities that include:
(A) Efficient
nutrient management;
(B) Crop
diversity through rotations and cover crops;
(C) Manure
management;
(D) Rotational
grazing and improved forages;
(E) Waste-stream-derived
amendment application, including compost, biochar, and anaerobic digest;
(F) Improved
cropping and organic systems; and
(G) Feed
management.
"Phase II activities" means activities identified as having significant sequestration
potential but requiring additional technical work to estimate the activities'
sequestration potential or to identify appropriate eligible land types,
including:
(1) Perennial biofuel
feedstocks;
(2) Methane capture;
(3) Improved forest
management;
(4) Conservation easements;
and
(5) Other renewable
energy options involving blended food and energy systems.
"Program" means the Hawaii farmland and forest soil health carbon smart incentive program established by this part."
SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022-2023 for:
(1) Administration of the Hawaii farmland and forest soil health carbon smart incentive program; and
(2) Five full-time equivalent (5.0 FTE) permanent positions for the office of planning and sustainable development, to be allocated as follows:
(A) One full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent position for administering the Hawaii farmland and forest soil health carbon smart incentive program established by this Act; and
(B) Four full-time equivalent (4.0) permanent positions to provide program expertise and technical assistance to each of the counties.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the office of planning and sustainable development for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022-2023 for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent position to support soil health and carbon sequestration actions on state lands and provide technical and research assistance to the Hawaii farmland and forest soil health carbon smart incentive program established by this Act.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of agriculture for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022-2023 for one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) permanent position to support soil health and carbon sequestration actions on state lands and provide technical and research assistance to the Hawaii farmland and forest soil health carbon smart incentive program established by this Act.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050; provided that sections 3, 4, and 5 shall take effect on July 1, 2050.
Report Title:
Carbon Sequestration; Hawaii Farmland and Forest Soil Health Carbon Smart Incentive Program; Office of Planning and Sustainable Development; Appropriations
Description:
Establishes the Hawaii farmland and forest soil health carbon smart incentive program to incentivize carbon sequestration activities through incentive contracts that provide compensation for eligible practices by program participants. Appropriates funds for positions and for administering the program. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD2)
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not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.