First climate fee bills pass initial hearing, with concerns

By Dan Nakaso for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Gov. Josh Green’s bills to fund Hawaii’s climate change response by increasing the state’s hotel room tax and dedicating all of the interest from the $1.5 billion rainy day fund were unanimously passed out of a House committee Tuesday, but with concerns that they need “a lot of work.”

“There’s a lot of work to be done on this and the subsequent bill,” said state Rep. Nicole Lowen, who chairs the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee, which passed House Bills 1076 and 1077 Tuesday.

Click here to read the full story in the February 5 Honolulu Star-Advertiser.