The state Senate on Tuesday revived a bill that would create a regulatory framework for an interisland electric transmission cable, a priority for Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s energy agenda.
The bill would not authorize an undersea cable to move wind, solar or geothermal energy between the islands, but if a project does proceed, the bill would set a framework for financing and development. Abercrombie had testified in favor of the bill during committee hearings, telling lawmakers that establishing a regulatory process would remove uncertainties — and potentially lower the cost — of a cable project.
The House, at the governor’s urging, removed language from the bill in March that implied that Molokai and Lanai could opt out of a cable project. Residents from the two islands along with several environmental groups have strongly opposed an undersea cable as a threat to native culture and unnecessary to meet the state’s energy demands. Others have been critical of the bill because it would allow Hawaiian Electric Co. to recover capital costs for transmission infrastructure through automatic rate adjustments on consumers.
Senators agreed Tuesday to accept the House’s version of the bill, setting a final vote for Thursday, the last day of the session.
Sen. Mike Gabbard (D, Waikele-Ko Olina), chairman of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, said the bill only ensures that an undersea cable project would be regulated by the state Public Utilities Commission.
"The bill does not fast-track any project. It certainly does not short-circuit environmental review or public input," Gabbard said. "I would be the first one to oppose any such provision."
The House and Senate also agreed Tuesday to amend a bill that could help guide planning around bus and rail transit stations on Oahu, clarifying that it is meant to apply to bus stations in Ewa, Central Oahu and the primary urban center. The bill would cover potential rail transit stations at East Kapolei, the University of Hawaii-West Oahu, West Loch, Waipahu, Leeward Community College and Pearl Highlands.
The bill, which originally contained several environmental and regulatory exemptions, was altered during the session but has still drawn opposition from community members who fear they will lose a voice in development projects. Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R, Kailua-Kaneohe) said she was unconvinced that the bill would not be applied to development in other communities. "So I cannot support this concept, even in the amended bill," she said.
Final votes on the transit-oriented development bill are scheduled for Thursday.
Lawmakers voted Tuesday for a bill that would authorize the Hawaii Health Systems Corp., the state’s quasi-public hospital system, to acquire the bankrupt and closed Hawaii Medical Center-East in Liliha.
Lawmakers also voted to modify the state’s new civil unions law to deal with a so-called "gap period" faced by couples already in reciprocal beneficiary relationships. Because a reciprocal beneficiary relationship must be dissolved before entering a civil union — a process that sometimes can take weeks — couples could be faced with a period of time in which they are covered by neither status, placing some benefits such as health insurance coverage at risk.
The bill also includes new language to exempt religious organizations from liability under certain circumstances when refusing to make religious facilities available for solemnization of a civil union. The bill contains narrow language defining such facilities as specific structures used for worship or ministry.
Lawmakers also took aim at the practice of "sexting" — sending nude or sexually explicit photos by cellphones and other devices. A bill would prohibit minors from producing and sending nude images of themselves or other minors. Minors and adults would be prohibited from soliciting or possessing such images.
A bill that would exempt members of state task forces from requirements of the state ethics code also gained final passage. The bill was in response to a ruling by the state ethics director that task force members should be treated like state employees under the ethics code and prohibited from lobbying for pay while serving.
Lawmakers passed a bill that would allow state agencies to appeal open-records rulings by the state Office of Information Practices in Circuit Court. A coalition of good-government, environmental and journalism advocates has argued that the bill could delay public access to government records.
The House and Senate took time Tuesday to praise the volunteers of the Friends of the Aina Haina Public Library for their advocacy on a bill that would allow book sales and other fundraising on state library property. "The library ladies," as some call them, had come to witness the final votes.
The bill had surprisingly evolved into one of the most complex of the session and, at times, had pitted library enthusiasts against each other once it was discovered that existing fundraising practices are illegal. Sen. Jill Tokuda (D, Kaneohe-Kahuku) read a poem for the occasion that ended: "So is this it? The final fix we need? I hope so. Desperately. Because in the end we all need friends.
"Big ones, little ones, and everyone in between."
