Joint committees pass utility receiver bill and labor standards for renewable projects with amendments

Two bills addressing utility oversight and project labor standards were advanced in a joint committee session of the House Energy & Environmental Protection Committee and the House Committee on Labor on March 11.

SB 1500 — PUC receiver authority The committees voted to move SB 1500 forward with amendments. The bill gives the Public Utilities Commission statutory authority to appoint a receiver if a regulated utility is deemed to be in imminent danger of failure and to protect customers and service continuity.

During the hearing, the Division of Consumer Advocacy (DCCA) told the committees it supported the bill, and the Public Utilities Commission (represented by Daniel Park) stood on written testimony and was available for questions. Hawaiian Electric provided comments and proposed narrowing language, recommending the bill be broadened to apply to all regulated public utilities (the utility filed suggested amendments to that effect). Committees agreed to remove the appropriation section from the draft while preserving the substantive receiver authority and set a standard effective date.

SB 997 — prevailing wage and apprenticeship standards for renewable projects The committees also advanced SB 997 with amendments that revert the text to the original purpose of requiring labor standards for new renewable energy projects, with one targeted deletion: the session removed subsection (h) on page 4 (the committee described it as an unnecessary or overly broad exemption) before passing the bill with the standardized effective date. The Hawaii State Energy Office supported the original, more expansive form of SB 997 and urged prevailing wages and registered apprenticeship use to support local workforce development; DCCA filed comments and supported the policy direction in a balanced form.

Votes and next steps Both bills were moved forward for further consideration with committee amendments. Committee chairs noted that staff will circulate revised language and that the bills will proceed to the next steps in the House legislative process. The Labor Committee recorded parallel recommendations to move both bills forward; the committee roll calls were recorded as part of the joint decision session.

What the committees did not do Neither committee approved appropriation language for SB 1500 in the joint session; the appropriation provision was removed. For SB 997 the committees removed an exemption provision but did not change the core requirement that new qualifying projects meet prevailing wage and apprenticeship standards.

Key testimony excerpts - Michael Angelo, DCCA: the division "stands on our testimony providing comments" and supported the intent to protect customers. - Cameron Black, Hawaii State Energy Office: said HSEO "preference[d] the original version of SB 997 requiring labor standards for new renewable energy projects, including prevailing wages and use of registered apprenticeships."

Implementation notes Staff will post the red‑lined bills and committee reports. Agencies and the PUC will be responsible for any follow‑up rulemaking or oversight duties assigned by the enacted bills.