HB 975 Hawaii House · 2025 Regular Session

RELATING TO CARBON SEQUESTRATION INCENTIVES.

Summary

Codifies and makes permanent the Hawaii Carbon Smart Land Management Assistance Program under the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Issues: ✓ Environment

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 21, 2025 Last action Feb 14, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB975 → HB975_HD1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill converts the Hawaii Carbon Smart Land Management Assistance Program from a temporary pilot to a permanent program and appropriates funding for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. The changes expand program permanence, clarify eligibility rules, and add detailed definitions for program activities and compensation terms.

Scope change

The bill changes the program from a temporary pilot program to a permanent state program, extending its operation indefinitely rather than allowing it to expire on June 30, 2025.

TIMELINE

Program is now permanently established instead of being a temporary pilot program with a sunset date.

FISCAL

Appropriates funds from general revenues for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 to support the permanent program.

REQUIREMENT

Incentive contracts must now be for a term of no less than one year and no longer than thirty years, with contract length correlating to compensation rates.

Added new department responsibilities including estimating sequestration rates, conducting research on compensation rates, and community outreach activities.

DEFINITION

Added detailed definitions for Phase I and Phase II activities, specifying which agricultural and forestry practices qualify for each phase.

ADDED

Added a requirement that no program participant may use compensation for carbon offsetting initiatives.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Reported from EEP (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 768) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on EEP recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Lowen, Perruso, Kahaloa, Kusch; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Quinlan, Ward.

lower

Jan 23, 2025

Committee

Referred to EEP, FIN, referral sheet 3

lower

Jan 23, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

4 primary · 0 co-sponsors