Hawaii-2022-SCR144-Amended

WHEREAS, Senate Resolution No. 125, S.D. 1, Regular Session of 2020, requested that the Public Utilities Commission, in collaboration with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' Division of Consumer Advocacy and any interisland water carriers operating in the State, convene a Water Carriers Working Group to recommend mid-term and long-term solutions to balance the need for continuous interisland water carrier service throughout the State with the need for water carriers to maintain financial sustainability; and

WHEREAS, on December 27, 2021, the Water Carriers Working Group issued its final report on its findings and recommendations; and

WHEREAS, the Water Carriers Working Group's final report noted that:

(1) Hawaii's communities are mostly dependent on the import of goods, as over eighty percent of goods consumed in Hawaii are imported, of which over ninety-eight percent is transported as waterborne cargo;

(2) Hawaii must rely heavily on transport of cargo by water carrier, unlike other communities in the continental United States that have alternative means of transporting goods by truck and rail;

(3) The cost of shipping goods to and within Hawaii is reflected in the cost of imported goods consumed in Hawaii and has been calculated to be as much as 7.5 percent of the cost of the goods;

(4) Due to Hawaii's dependency on the import of goods, maritime support to ensure food security in the State is required; and

(5) While there are agricultural-specific subsidies, as well as subsidies for aircrafts transporting to remote destinations, subsidies do not currently exist for general cargo transport to and within Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the Water Carriers Working Group's final report recommended that:

(1) A broad subsidy for trans-Pacific and interisland cargo could reduce the cost of goods;

(2) The source of such subsidies could be from existing or newly created federal, state, and county government programs;

(3) The Legislature pass a resolution directing the Hawaii State Department of Transportation to convene a working group to create and recommend federal, state, and county subsidies for the transport of waterborne cargo and provide an update on the status of creating these programs to the Legislature prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023;

(4) The Hawaii State Department of Transportation lead a committee to continue working and consulting with the United States Department of Transportation in the establishment of a federal waterborne cargo subsidies program, including the drafting of legislative language;

(5) The Hawaii State Department of Transportation lead a committee to work and consult with the Hawaii Congressional Delegation to sponsor a bill to establish a federal waterborne cargo subsidies program within the United States Department of Transportation; and

(6) The Hawaii State Department of Transportation lead a committee to work and consult with the Hawaii State Senate and House of Representatives Standing Committees on Transportation, county departments of transportation, and county councils in the establishment of local waterborne cargo subsidies program, including the drafting of legislation; and

WHEREAS, on November 5, 2021, the National Conference of State Legislatures passed a resolution that:

(1) Urged Congress to fund a broad subsidy for trans-Pacific, trans-Atlantic, and interisland waterborne cargo to improve the affordability of imported goods; and

(2) Requested that the United States Department of Transportation Maritime Administration develop and implement a federal waterborne cargo subsidies program and that sources of any subsidies may be from existing or newly created federal programs; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Transportation is requested to convene a working group and various committees to create and recommend state and county subsidies for the transport of waterborne cargo consistent with the findings and recommendations of the Water Carriers Working Group's final report and recommendations on seeking broad federal funding; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group consist of the following members:

(1) The Senate President, or the President's designee;

(2) The Speaker of the House of Representatives, or the Speaker's designee;

(3) The mayor of each county, or the respective mayor's designee;

(4) One representative from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism;

(5) One representative from the Hawaii State Department of Transportation;

(6) One representative from the Department of Agriculture;

(7) One representative from the Hawaii Harbor Users Group;

(8) The Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Transportation; and

(9) The Chairperson of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Transportation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is requested to convene a committee to continue working and consulting with the United States Department of Transportation Maritime Administration in the seeking of federal waterborne cargo funding, including the drafting of legislative language; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is requested to convene a committee to work and consult with the Hawaii congressional delegation to sponsor a bill to establish a federal waterborne cargo funding program within the United States Department of Transportation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to work and consult with the Senate and House of Representatives Standing Committees with the subject matter of Transportation, county departments of transportation, and county councils in the establishment of a local waterborne cargo subsidies program, including the drafting of legislation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit an interim report providing an update on the status of establishing these waterborne cargo subsidies programs to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a final report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature and Governor no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2024; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's congressional delegation; Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Director of Transportation; and mayors of each county.

Report Title:

Department of Transportation; Working Group; Waterborne Cargo; Subsidies

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	144
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII