The container deposit bill has passed out of the state House Finance Committee and is up for a vote on the House floor.
The bill has undergone several changes since it was introduced, said co-sponsor Rep. Mina Morita, D-12th (N. Kaua‘i, E. Maui).
The main change would give the soft drink and liquor industry a year to develop an alternate recycling program. At the end of that time, if the state Department of Health determines the industry program is adequate, the container deposit legislation automatically will lapse. If not, the bottle bill would be implemented.
The Finance Committee also removed from the bill all references to fees for deposits. The original bill included a 2-cent recycling fee and 5-cent refundable deposit on single-serving containers, and a 2-cent and 15-cent combination on glass, aluminum or plastic containers larger than 20 ounces.
Morita said the removal of the amounts means numbers must be reinserted in the House-Senate conference committee, if the bill survives the House floor vote and passes in the Senate.
The bill’s designation is House Bill 1256, House Draft 2.
In other legislation supported by Hawai‘i’s conservation community, the net metering bill, H.B. 1385, H.D. 3, has passed in the Finance Committee and is up for a House floor vote. The bill would allow some homeowners who generate their own power to sell excess to the electric utilities.
Also sent to the House floor was the renewables portfolio bill, H.B. 173, H.D. 2, which would require utilities to produce a set percentage of their power from renewable sources by 2010. In both bills, lawmakers removed language about limits on the amount of power involved, requiring that it be reinserted later.
The House has approved H.B. 1554, H.D. 1, which promotes the use of hydrogen as fuel and of fuel cells as means of delivering power. The bill creates a public-private partnership within the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism that would promote hydrogen and fuel cells.
