RELATING TO THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION.

SB2711

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2711

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
.

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

����
SECTION 1.
�
This Act shall
be known and may be cited as the "Public Utilities Commission Intervenor
Compensation Act of 2026".

����
SECTION 2.
�

The legislature finds that
p
ublic participation in proceedings
before the public utilities commission is essential
to
informed
regulatory decision
-making that
affect
s
all
residents
of the State
.
�
The legislature finds, however, that
public
interest groups
,
community organizations
, and
individual consumers

often
lack
the
financial, legal, and technical
resources
necessary
to
effectively participate in public utilities commission

proceedings
.
�
In contrast,
utility companies
typically

possess extensive legal and technical resources to adv
ance
their
positions
, resulting in a structural imbalance in
commission proceedings
.
�
The
legislature further finds that this resource imbalance can result in regulatory
capture, where decisions disproportionately favor utility interests over
consumer protection, environmental stewardship, and advancement of public
policy goals.
�
The legislature believes
that addressing this imbalance is particularly significant for the State, where
informed and effective public interest participation is essential to
a
dvancing
the State's
renewable energy goals,
maintaining
affordable

utility
rates, and
ensuring
equitable access
to
utility services
.

����
The legislature also finds that California
and other states have successfully implemented intervenor compensation programs

to
level the playing field between community members and utility companies
,
leading to robust public participation and better-informed regulatory decision-making
.
�
California's intervenor compensation program
has awarded hundreds of millions of dollars to public interest groups since its
inception, enabling participation and effective advocacy that has resulted in
billions of dollars in consumer savings and accelerated achievement of clean
energy goals.
�
Intervenor compensation
programs in other jurisdictions have achieved more balanced representations of
diverse stakeholder interests in regulatory proceedings, the introduction of
technical expertise and evidence that would otherwise be unavailable to the
respective public utilities commission, better informed commission decisions,
improved consumer outcomes, and greater trust in the regulatory process.

����
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to establish
an intervenor compensation program to reimburse qualified intervenors for
reasonable costs incurred for making substantial contributions in proceedings
before the public utilities commission.

����
SECTION 3.
�

Chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to
be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"
Part
.
�
intervenor
compensation program

����
�269-
�
Definitions.
�
As used in this part:

����
"Commission" means the public
utilities commission.

����
"Intervenor" means any person,
other than an original party, admitted as a party in a commission proceeding.

����
"Person" has the same meaning as
defined in section 91-1.

����
"Reasonable costs" includes costs
for legal representation, expert witnesses, consultants, technical assistance,
administrative, document reproduction, travel to attend hearings and working
group meetings, and other necessary professional services at rates not
exceeding prevailing market rates for similar services.

����
"Significant financial hardship"
means that the payment of reasonable costs would impose an unreasonable burden
on the intervenor considering the intervenor's financial resources and the
nature of the intervenor's interest in the proceeding.

����
"Substantial contribution" means
presentation of evidence, legal argument, or expert testimony that materially
assists the commission in reaching its decision.

����
�269-
�
Intervenor compensation program; established;
qualification criteria.
�
(a)
�
The commission shall establish an intervenor
compensation program to reimburse qualified intervenors for reasonable costs
incurred from making a substantial contribution to a commission proceeding.

����
(b)
�
To
qualify for reimbursement, an intervenor shall:

����
(1)
�
Represent
consumer, environmental, renewable energy, community, or other public
interests;

����
(2)
�
Demonstrate
that participation in the commission proceeding without reimbursement for
reasonable costs would impose significant financial hardship on the intervenor;
provided that for nonprofit organizations, determination of significant
financial hardship shall consider the organization's overall budget, other
funding sources, and mission priorities;

����
(3)
�
Make
a substantial contribution to a commission proceeding;

����
(4)
�
Not
have a commercial interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome
of the commission proceeding; and

����
(5)
�
Not
have an alternative source of funding available for the reimbursement of the
reasonable costs.

����
(c)
�

The following persons shall be presumed to have met the qualification
criteria in subsection (b), unless rebutted by evidence to the contrary:

����
(1)
�
Nonprofit
organizations with annual budgets under $5,000,000 whose mission includes
utility consumer protection, environmental advocacy, or renewable energy
advancement;

����
(2)
�
Community
organizations representing low-income, Native Hawaiian, or environmental
justice communities;

����
(3)
�
Academic
institutions or researchers providing independent technical analysis; and

����
(4)
�
Individual
ratepayers or small ratepayer groups without commercial interests in the outcome
of the commission proceeding.

����
(d)
�

Intervenor compensation shall be available for all commission
proceedings, with particular emphasis on proceedings involving:

����
(1)
�
General
rate cases and revenue requirement determinations;

����
(2)
�
Integrated
resource planning and renewable energy procurement;

����
(3)
�
Distributed
energy resource programs and interconnection standards;

����
(4)
�
Performance-based
regulation and utility incentive mechanisms;

����
(5)
�
Grid
modernization and infrastructure investment; and

����
(6)
�
Low-income
customer programs and rate design.

����
�269-
�
Reimbursement procedure.
�
(a)
�
An
intervenor seeking
reimbursement of reasonable costs shall
file
with

the commission
:

����
(1)
�
A

notice of intent to
request reimbursement, no later than t
hirty
days
after being admitted as a party
in the commission proceeding
;

����
(
2
)
�
A
final
request for
reimbursement in the form of a motion, no later
than
sixty days
after
the
issuance of the
commission's
final decision and order
for the proceeding; provided that a proper
filing of a final request for reimbursement shall include

a
detailed
accounting of
the
reasonable costs
incurred

and
a
demonstration of
the
intervenor's
substantial contribution
to the proceeding
;
and

����
(3)
�
Within
sixty days of filing the notice of intent, an estimated budget of anticipated
costs to enable early assessment of reasonableness and avoid disputes over
costs recovery.

����
(b)
�
Any opposing party may file and serve counter
affidavits and a written statement of reasons in opposition to the motion in
compliance with this chapter or rules adopted by the commission.

����
(
c
)
�

The commission shall issue its determination on whether to grant, partially
grant, or deny the motion no later than sixty days after the proper filing of
the motion.
�
The commission may authorize
interim payments of up to five per cent of estimated reasonable costs upon
showing of financial hardship and likelihood of substantial contribution, with
final reconciliation upon completion of the proceeding.
�
No
reimbursement
awarded
shall exceed reasonable costs that were necessary for
the
intervenor's
substantial contribution
to the commission
proceeding
.

����
(d)
�

All reimbursement
of reasonable costs
shall be
funded
through assessments imposed by the commission on the public utilities whose
rates, charges, or operations are the subject of the commission proceeding, in
proportion to each utility's interest in the proceeding.
�
Any amounts assessed under this section shall
be recoverable by the assessed utilities as regulatory commission expenses,
subject to commission approval.

����
(e)
�
The commission shall not impose arbitrary
caps on total reimbursements available; provided that the commission may review
the reasonableness of individual cost items to ensure that they are necessary
for substantial contribution.
�
The
commission shall apply the same standards of reasonableness to intervenor costs
as it applies to utility counsel and expert witness costs in commission
proceedings.

����
(f)
�
All motions for intervenor compensation,
supporting documentation, and decisions of the commission on compensation
requests shall be publicly available on the commission's website within ten
business days of filing or issuance.

����
�269-
�
Rules.
�

No later than January 1, 2027, the commission shall adopt rules pursuant
to chapter 91 necessary to carry out the purposes of this part.
�
The rules shall, at a minimum, specify the
qualification criteria, develop specific reimbursement procedures, and
establish standards for determining substantial contribution.
�
Standards for determining whether an
intervenor has made a substantial contribution to a commission proceeding may
include but are not limited to:

����
(1)
�
Presentation
of evidence or arguments not otherwise adequately presented by other parties;

����
(2)
�
Introduction
of expert testimony materially assisting the commission's analysis;

����
(3)
�
Presentation
of legal arguments clarifying significant issues before the commission;

����
(4)
�
Advocacy
that materially influences the commission's decision;

����
(5)
�
Representation
of constituencies whose interests would otherwise be underrepresented in the
proceeding;

����
(6)
�
Development
or presentation of technical models, analyses, or methodologies that inform
commission decision-making;

����
(7)
�
Effective
cross-examination of witnesses that clarifies critical issues;

����
(8)
�
Facilitation
of settlement negotiations or consensus-building among parties; and

����
(9)
�
Participation
in working groups or technical conferences that advances proceeding objectives.

����
The standards of substantial contribution shall
be construed liberally to encourage public interest participation and shall not
be applied to deny compensation solely because the commission did not adopt an
intervenor's recommendation; provided that the intervenor's participation
materially informed the commission's deliberations.

����
�269-
�
Annual report.
�
The commission shall submit a report of its
findings and recommendations on the operations of the intervenor compensation
program for the previous fiscal year, including any proposed legislation, to
the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular
session.
�
The annual report shall detail
at a minimum:

����
(1)
�
The
number of reimbursement requests and awards made;

����
(2)
�
The
total amount of reimbursements awarded and funding sources;

����
(3)
�
The
types of commission proceedings involving intervenor reimbursements;

����
(4)
�
The
assessment of the program's effectiveness, including analysis of whether
program participation is achieving balanced representation across consumer,
environmental, and community interests; and evaluation of consumer benefits
resulting from intervenor participation, including estimated ratepayer savings,
renewable energy advancement, and improved utility performance;

����
(5)
�
Names
of persons receiving compensation and their areas of representation;

����
(6)
�
Average
time from request submission to payment;

����
(7)
�
Examples
of substantial contributions made by compensated intervenors and resulting
commission decisions;

����
(8)
�
Comparison
of intervenor compensation costs to total regulatory expenses and utility
revenues at issue in commission proceedings; and

����
(9)
�
Identification
of barriers to participation and recommendations for program improvements."

����
SECTION 4.
�

There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii
the sum of $500,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year
2026-2027 for the establishment and initial administration of the intervenor
compensation program by the public utilities commission, including development
of rules, establish of procedures, outreach to potential participants, and
administrative support.

����
The sum appropriated shall be expended by
the public utilities commission for the purposes of this Act.

����
SECTION 5.
�

This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

PUC;
Intervenor Compensation Program; Establishment; Reports; Appropriation

Description:

Requires
the Public Utilities Commission to establish an Intervenor Compensation Program
to reimburse qualified intervenors participating in commission proceedings for reasonable
costs incurred for making substantial contributions.
�
Requires reports to the Legislature.
�
Appropriates funds.

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not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.