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Committee passes renewable-fuel production credit with amendments and HSEO oversight
Summary
HB1695 HD1, a renewable fuels production tax credit, passed after the committee adopted amendments to clarify definitions, designate the Hawaii State Energy Office as the administering authority and reinstate HSEO verification of greenhouse-gas reductions; the committee left a numerical cap blank for later resolution.
House Bill 16 95 HD1, which expands a renewable fuels production tax credit and applies to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2025, passed out of committee on Feb. 19 after several amendments to clarify administration, definitions and verification.
Testimony from producers, farmers and local biodiesel manufacturers argued the credit will make renewable-fuel production economically viable in Hawaii, create agricultural opportunities and bolster local energy security. Nehalani Parsons of the Hawaii Renewable Fuels Coalition said the bill includes safeguards such as per-producer caps and a transportation emissions threshold intended to favor lower-carbon, locally produced fuels.
Opponents and some testifiers pressed for stronger disclosure and expressed concern about certain feedstocks, including construction and demolition waste, because of potential contaminants such as arsenic. The committee agreed to reinstate HSEO oversight and verification language for lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions and to adopt a set of coalition and agency-recommended amendments; it also left the cap amount on one provision blank to be set later.
The committee voted to pass HB1695 HD1 with the adopted amendments; the chair and vice chair voted aye and no recorded no votes were entered.
