RELATING TO ENERGY.

HB1620

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1620

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to energy
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION
1.
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The legislature finds that the
electric vehicle charging system rebate program, established pursuant to Act
142, Session Laws of Hawaii 2019, provides rebates for the installation of
electric vehicle charging systems in priority locations, including multi-unit
dwellings, workplaces, and commercial areas, and in places that serve vehicle
fleets.
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After the initial funding
provided in 2019 was depleted, the legislature recognized the need for a
sustainable source of funding and dedicated a small portion of the
environmental response, energy, and food security tax, also known as the
"barrel tax," to fund the electric vehicle charging system rebate
program through an electric vehicle charging system subaccount.
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This program has proven very successful for
its initial limited size and scale, facilitating the installation of over four
hundred fifty new charging systems in the State.

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The
legislature further finds that the need for electric vehicle charging
infrastructure only continues to increase, which in turn is widening the
shortfall in infrastructure available to meet this need.
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Public incentives must dramatically increase
to fill this growing gap and meet further needs going forward.
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Hawaii is currently among the leading states
in the nation in the rate of electric vehicle adoption but among the last in
the availability of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

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The
legislature additionally finds that the availability and accessibility of electric
vehicle charging infrastructure support the economy, protect the environment
and climate, and promote affordability and livability in the State.
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The ongoing shift from fossil fuel vehicles
to electric vehicles in the Hawaii market enables families to save on their
cost of living by giving them more affordable transportation options without
onerous gas bills.
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It also benefits the
local economy by reducing the massive drain of funds out of the State to pay
for imported fossil fuels.
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The lack of
charging availability, however, is a major barrier for consumers to shift to
electric vehicles.
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A robust and
comprehensive electric vehicle charging network is particularly needed to bring
equity to the market and to make electric vehicles a viable choice for
everyone, including renters, condominium residents, and lower-income households
and communities.

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The 2025 energy
security and waste reduction plan that the Hawaii department of transportation
developed under the landmark
Navahine
settlement agreement recognizes
the need to dramatically scale up the electrification of transportation to meet
legal mandates to decarbonize the statewide transportation system.
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The plan also recognizes that building out Hawaii's
electric vehicle charging infrastructure is an integral part of the recommended
"multifaceted approach" to drive progress on this front.

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The
purpose of this Act is to expand the electric vehicle charging system rebate
program and accelerate the build-out of necessary electric vehicle charging
infrastructure by increasing:

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(1)
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The environmental response, energy, and food
security tax; and

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(2)
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The amount collected from the tax that is
deposited into the electric vehicle charging system subaccount.

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SECTION
2
.
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Section 243-3.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

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"
(a)
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In addition to any other taxes provided by
law, subject to the exemptions set forth in section 243-7, there is hereby
imposed a state environmental response, energy, and food security tax on each
barrel or fractional part of a barrel of petroleum product sold by a
distributor to any retail dealer or end user of petroleum product, other than a
refiner.
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The tax shall be [
$1.05
]

$1.15
on each barrel or fractional part of a barrel of petroleum product
that is not aviation fuel; provided that of the tax collected pursuant to this
subsection:

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(1)
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5 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be
deposited into the environmental response revolving fund established under
section 128D-2;

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(2)
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4 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be
deposited into the energy security special fund established under section
201-12.8;

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(3)
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5 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be
deposited into the energy systems development special fund established under
section 304A-2169.1;

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(4)
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[
3
]
13
cents of the tax on each
barrel shall be deposited into the electric vehicle charging system subaccount
established pursuant to section 269-33(e); and

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(5)
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3 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be
deposited into the hydrogen fueling system subaccount established pursuant to
section 269-33(f).

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The tax imposed by this subsection
shall be paid by the distributor of the petroleum product."

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SECTION
3.
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Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory
material is underscored.

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SECTION 4.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Environmental
Response, Energy, and Food Security Tax; Electric Vehicle Charging System
Subaccount; Increase

Description:

Increases
the environmental response, energy, and food security tax and the amount
collected from the tax that is deposited into the electric vehicle charging
system subaccount.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.