Gov. David Ige recently signed into law three pieces of House legislation that promote Hawaii's transition to clean ground transportation, according to a report by Big Island Now.
Rep. Nicole Lowen (D-Kailua-Kona), who authored two of the bills, emphasized the critical nature of the state focusing on the transition to sustainable transportation to meet decarbonization goals and combat the issue of climate change.
“Even with all the progress that has been made in the last decade, Hawaii is still heavily reliant on imported oil, a majority of which is used in the transportation sector,” Lowen, chair of the House Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, told Big Island Now.
The first of the three bills, House Bill 552, now Act 74, sets a goal for state agencies to attain a 100% zero-emission fleet of light-duty motor vehicles by December 31, 2035.
“With the signing of HB 552 into law, the state is demonstrating its commitment to decarbonizing state fleets and leading the way for the private sector to do the same. This measure will also save taxpayer dollars because electric vehicles are now cheaper to own and operate than gas-powered vehicles,” Lowen said, according to Big Island Now.
Act 74 also introduces "procurement preferences" to promote the use of cleaner medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
The second bill, House Bill 424, now known as Act 73, mandates all state agencies to use electric or hybrid cars while doing official government business.
“I am thrilled to see HB 424 make it through the entire legislative process this year. Everything we can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions should be everyone’s goal,” Rep. Tina Wildberger (D-Kihei), vice chair of the House Government Reform Committee, told Big Island Now.
House Bill 1142, also known as Act 75, distributes funds from the state's barrel tax to finance a rebate program for the establishment of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.
The legislature established this rebate program in 2019, and it has reportedly been effective in encouraging the construction of additional publicly accessible EV chargers across the state.
Over 1 million gas-powered cars currently utilize the state's roads, releasing roughly 5 million metric tons of carbon emissions each year.