Bill Text: HI HB1015 | 2019 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Energy Data.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-13 - Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Holt, McDermott, Nakamura, Ward excused (4). [HB1015 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2019-HB1015-Amended.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
1015 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO ENERGY DATA.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that climate change
poses a serious environmental, economic and public health threat
worldwide. Hawaii is particularly
vulnerable to increases in sea levels, storm intensity, flooding, and beach erosion which
will result in disastrous impacts to our island state.
The legislature finds
that to address Hawaii's contribution to climate change, it passed Act 234, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 2007, which
mandated that the State of Hawaii reduce its
statewide greenhouse gas emissions to levels at or below 1990 levels by January
1, 2020.
The legislature further
finds that section 342B-72, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), as enacted by
section 8 of Act 234, SLH 2007, mandated that the department of health adopt
rules to ensure that any greenhouse gas emission reductions achieved are real,
permanent, quantifiable, verifiable, and enforceable by the director of health.
In 2014, pursuant to
section 342B-72, HRS, the department of health adopted chapter 11-60.1,
subchapter 11, Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR), to regulate greenhouse gas emissions
to achieve the 2020 emissions limit.
Section 11-60.1-204(k), HAR,
requires that the department of health conduct an annual evaluation, beginning
in 2016, of
progress to achieve the statewide greenhouse gas emission limit in a
manner consistent with that done by the department of business, economic development,
and tourism in its preparation of the 1990 greenhouse gas emission estimates
under Act 234, SLH 2007.
Pursuant to section
342B-72, HRS, and section 11-60.1-204(k), HAR, the department of health is now
responsible for preparing
the annual greenhouse gas progress reports
that provide statewide greenhouse gas
emission inventory estimates and updates.
The annual reports are essential in
order for the department of health to assess the progress being made toward
achieving the 2020 greenhouse gas emissions limit, to estimate uncertainties,
and to support the determination of whether or not the 2020 limit has been met
and will be sustained.
Currently, access to the energy data obtained via chapter 486J, HRS, for compiling statewide greenhouse gas
inventories, is restricted to a few state departments
and authorized individuals. The
department of health is currently not one of the listed state departments
allowed access to this essential energy data.
Without access to the data, the department of health has been having
difficulty developing the most accurate and reliable estimates of the state
greenhouse gas emission levels possible.
The purpose of this Act is to add the department of health to
the list of state departments that have access to the energy data contained in
chapter 486J, HRS, in order to increase the accuracy and reduce the levels of
uncertainty in the department of health's annual greenhouse gas progress
reports.
SECTION 2. Section
486J-5.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to
read as follows:
"§486J-5.5
Energy data collection program. The department shall
establish the energy data collection program that includes development and
maintenance of an energy database system that meets the requirements of
government and industry, while promoting sound
policy making, greenhouse gas emission inventory reporting, energy
planning, energy assurance planning, and energy security."
SECTION 3. Section 486J-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
"(c) Unless otherwise provided by law, with
respect to data that the commission or department obtained or was provided
pursuant to this chapter, neither the commission or department nor any employee
of the commission or department may do any of the following:
(1) Use the information furnished or obtained for any purpose other than the purposes for which it is supplied;
(2) Make any publication whereby the data furnished by any person can be identified; or
(3) Permit
any person other than the commission, the department of taxation, the attorney
general, the consumer advocate, the department of business, economic
development, and tourism, the department of health, and the authorized
representatives and employees of each to examine the individual reports or
statements provided."
SECTION 4. Section 486J-7,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as
follows:
"§486J-7 Confidential information obtained by another
state agency. Any confidential
information pertinent to the responsibilities of the commission or the
department specified in this chapter that is obtained by another state agency,
including the department of taxation, the attorney general, and the consumer
advocate, shall be available only to the attorney general, the attorney
general's authorized representatives, the department of business, economic
development, and tourism, the department of health, and the commission
and shall be treated in a confidential manner."
SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2100.
Report Title:
Greenhouse Gas Data; Department of Health
Description:
Permits the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to share energy data with the Department of Health for purposes of regulating greenhouse gas emissions. (HB1015 HD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
