Energy and development bills pass

Good news and bad news from the Sierra Club Hawai‘i chapter

Aloha:
First, mahalo for helping to shape the outcome of bills at the legislature this year. Since the environmental community lacks the cadre of lobbyists and campaign contributions to influence lawmakers, we rely on your calls, emails, and other efforts speaking on behalf of our environment. Thank you.

The good news: the bill to require that all new homes have solar water heaters passed unanimously in the House and with only two dissenting votes in the Senate (Sens. Sam Slom and Gordon Trimble). The new solar roofs bill, SB 644, now goes to the Governor for her signature. Solar water heaters shave up to 40 percent from a home’s electricity bill and likely reduce residential greenhouse gas emissions by over 12,000 tons additionally each year. The measure is also a boon to the clean energy industry locally, as dozens of new jobs will be created, standards for performance and quality of solar systems will be codifed in law, and the 35% tax credit for retrofitting existing homes will remain in place. When Governor Lingle signs the bill into law, Hawaii will be the first state in the nation with such a progressive clean energy policy. What can you do now?
• Please contact the Governor and ask her to sign SB 644, the Solar Roofs bill, into law: 586-0034, governor.lingle@hawaii.gov. Building all new homes with solar up front is a necessary step to achieving her goal of 70% clean energy by 2030.
• Let the legislature know you are happy with their courageous support for this landmark policy. Click here to send an email to all, or contact legislators individually from the list .

Now the bad news: The farmland sprawl bill, SB 2646, narrowly passed last Thursday. The measure could open up hundreds of thousands of acres of agricultural lands statewide for sprawling development. Heavy lobbying by the developer’s Land Use Research Foundation and large landowners such as Alexander & Baldwin tilted the scales at the last minute. Despite the rhetoric of "agricultral protection," the bill allows a large landowner to urbanize a portion of their land in exchange for designating a percentage as “important agricultural land.” Sen. Russell Kokubun -- who voted against the measure -- warned his fellow senators in a floor speech on the final day that the measure would ease the development of luxury estates and golf courses with little public input or recourse. The Senate supported SB 2646 in a 14-10-1 vote. The House passed the bill 29-18-4. Please take action:
• We have a chance to convince the Governor that this bill is a disaster for sustainability and smart planning. The measure is antithetical to the Governor's stated belief that Hawaii must move away from an economy based on land speculation and development. Please contact the Governor and ask her to veto SB 2646: 586-0034, governor.lingle@hawaii.gov.
• Please, take a second and thank the legislators who voted against this blatant pro-development measure. Click here to send an email to all those who stood up to the development lobby.
• Accountability is also critical. If you want to politely express your disappointment with those who supported the measure, send an email both to the first bunch here and the second bunch here. A list of all legislators and how they voted on SB 2646 with their phone numbers is at the bottom (or here).

Here's a wrapup of the legislature's efforts on environmental measures from the Honolulu Advertiser. Below is a news release discussing some of the measure in more depth.

Solar Roofs Passes

Legislature passes landmark bill to require solar on all new homes; Farmland development measure sneaks by after heavy push by large landowners

STATE CAPITOL – The Hawai‘i state legislature passed a landmark measure last week that would make the state the first in the nation to require solar water heaters as a standard feature on all new homes. The new solar roofs bill, SB 644, now goes to the Governor for her signature. Solar water heaters shave up to 40 percent from a home’s electricity bill and greatly reduce residential greenhouse gas emissions. Advocates say the policy comes none too soon, as Hawai‘i faces the priciest electricity in the nation and clear threats from climate change.

“This is the type of transformative policy that will define Hawaii’s clean energy future,” said Jeff Mikulina, Director of the Sierra Club, Hawai‘i Chapter. “The solar roofs bill brings the benefit of free sunshine to new homeowners across our islands. We are the Saudi Arabia of sun. Every house in the state should be tapping into this free resource.”

The solar roofs bill would greatly increase the efficiency and affordability of new homes built in Hawai'i. Solar water heaters are among the most effective means of reducing the high electricity cost burden that residents now endure. The solar roofs bill makes the cost of living more affordable by slashing the electric utility bill of an average new home by 30 to 40 percent—saving over $1000 annually for an average household on Kaua‘i.

The bill received unanimous support in the House and only two dissenting votes in the Senate (Sen. Sam Slom – R, Hawai‘i Kai, and Sen. Gordon Trimble – R, Downtown).

Advocates believe the measure will win Governor Linda Lingle’s support, as tapping clean energy has been one of her Administration’s key initiatives. Earlier this year the Governor announced a goal of at least 70% renewable energy use by 2030 in Hawai‘i.

“Achieving 70% clean energy use by 2030 is nearly impossible without the widespread use of solar water heaters,” said Mikulina. “The solar roofs bill is smart policy, sensibly crafted to smooth a transition toward zero-energy homes of the future.”

As with most legislation, the final draft of the measure represented a compromise. The measure contains reasonable exceptions to the solar requirement to address some of the concerns from developers and the Gas Company. A waiver can be granted if there is poor solar resource or if a solar water heater will be more costly than an electric heater over time. If a new home uses an efficient on-demand gas heater and one other gas appliance, such as a gas stove, they can request a waiver from solar (although gas lines are rarely installed in new subdivisions). For the solar industry, this bill contains provisions to codify — in law — standards and quality-assurance criteria that will now govern solar water heater systems statewide.

“Passing the solar roofs bill was the single biggest step the legislature took this year to increase Hawaii’s energy security,” added Mikulina. “Kudos to Sen. Gary Hooser, Rep. Hermina Morita, and Sen. Ron Menor for helping to make this measure a reality.”

The solar roofs bill was the top priority of the Sierra Club this session. The requirement takes effect January 1, 2010.

But not all was good for the environment at the Capitol today, according to the Sierra Club.

A measure that could open up hundreds of thousands of acres of agricultural lands statewide for sprawling development narrowly passed in the Senate after a heavy lobbying push by the developer’s Land Use Research Foundation landowners such as Alexander & Baldwin. The bill, SB 2646, would allow a large landowner to urbanize a portion of their land in exchange for designating a percentage as “important agricultural land.” Despite rejecting such language in the original House version of the policy when it crossed over to them in HB 2807, the Senate supported SB 2646 in a 14-10-1 vote. The House passed the bill 29-18-4.

Sen. Russell Kokubun—who voted against the measure—warned his fellow senators in a floor speech today that the measure would ease the development of luxury estates and golf courses with little public input or recourse.

“Support for this sprawl-inducing bill belies the ‘sustainability’ focus offered on opening day of the session,” said Mikulina. “Given the speculative pressure driving up the cost of land in Hawai‘i, the last thing we want to do is make it easier to develop farmlands into luxury subdivisions.”

The bill also provides a corporate bailout corporate bail out to former plantations and large landowners and essentially provides state support for further water diversions. For example, a large landowner could receive state tax support to finance their legal efforts to divert water from smaller taro farmers.

“We are disappointed in the legislature for sacrificing smart planning to appease development interests. The House leadership’s pressuring to pass this pro-development policy was disgraceful,” said Mikulina. “We hope the Governor sees through the rhetoric of this dangerous bill and exercises her veto pen.”
 
Besides the solar roofs measure, at least five other sustainability measures passed the legislature last week and head to the Governor’s desk. Bills that passed committee include those to increase penalties for conservation violations (HB 3177), establish an electronic waste recycling program (SB 2843), provide for rebates to make photovoltaic energy systems more affordable (SB 988), fund invasive species prevention programs through a $1 per ton of cargo fee (HB 2843), and ensure the “Right to Dry” clothes (SB 2933).

While the measure to allow the use of clotheslines anywhere—including in community associations where restrictive covenants sometimes prohibit them—has drawn chuckles from some, their real effect is dead serious: dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save homeowners hundreds on their utility bills. Some community associations effectively prevent the use of clotheslines, denying residents the right to use this significant energy saver. Enactment of SB 2933 would prohibit such restrictions, removing yet another barrier to smart energy behavior.

House Bill 3177, regarding conservation penalties, was also lauded by environmental proponents. The Administration measure increases the maximum fine for conservation violations from the current $2000 per violation to $15,000.

Legislative leaders unfortunately rejected a number of good environmental bills in the waning days of the session, however. Inexplicably, a majority package bill to set lighting efficiency standards and create a compact fluorescent recycling program (SB 2842) failed to emerge from conference committee, despite agreement on the bill’s terms. House leaders refused to begin conference negotiations on another bill to require shoreline development setbacks that anticipate sea level rise (HB 1037). Another casualty last week was the in-store recycling bill (HB 639) that would have allowed consumers to redeem their bottles and cans at retail stores of a certain size.

But the Sierra Club believes the solar roofs requirement was the defining pro-environment bill of the legislative session.

“Rarely does the legislature have the opportunity to forward a policy that addresses so many needs at once: the need for reduced carbon emissions, the need to reduce the cost of home ownership and the need for good local jobs in the clean energy field,” said Mikulina. “The benefits of this bill will ripple across our islands.”