House Bill 1020, HD1, which establishes a program to characterize carbon sequestration potential in underground water resources statewide, passed the committees after chairs concurred to make the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) the lead agency in the bill language.

Mark Lick of the Hawaii State Energy Office and representatives from DBEDT and Ulupono Initiative testified in strong support, saying the effort is part of a broader administration package to assess geothermal and other subsurface resources that could aid energy security.

Committee members questioned whether one agency should coordinate statewide geothermal and related subsurface studies. DBEDT representatives said they would work collaboratively with the Hawaii State Energy Office and county partners; DBEDT staff noted current university-led projects on Hawaii Island focused on geothermal resources and emphasized avoiding duplication of effort.

During decision making, the chairs proposed replacing references to HSEO with DBEDT and removing duplicated language that required HSEO to collaborate with DBEDT, making DBEDT the primary agency. The committees approved the technical edits and passed HB 1020, HD1, with amendments.

Committee members voted without objection among those present; the motion was adopted.