 Aloha, welcome to Think Tech Hawaii's Movers, Shakers, and Reformers Politics in Hawaii series. I'm your host, Carl Campania. I am proud and honored to have as my guest today Hawaii State Senator Lorraine Inouye. Senator Inouye currently represents Hawaii's fourth district on Hawaii Island. She's an experienced legislator who formally served in the Hawaii State Senate for 10 years from 1998 to 2008. Additionally, Senator Inouye was Hawaii County Mayor from 1990 to 1992 and was elected to the Hawaii County Council from 1984 to 1990. For the current 2017 legislative session, Senator Inouye is the chair of the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee and is a member of both the Water and Land and Ways and Means Committee. Please join me in welcoming Senator Inouye to the show. Thank you for joining us. Aloha, Carl. My pleasure. Please tell us more about your district. Okay, well, before that, let me share something else that's missing there. My political life started off as I volunteered to serve on the Hawaii County Planning Commission in the 70s. So from 74 to 1979, and I served as the chairperson during the last year. And so having the experience serving on the Hawaii County Planning Commission was my first experience. However, I do want to say that during that time, our commission is the one that had set the environment for Hawaii, whether it's for jobs, new industries. And let me say what we did was we did the rezoning for the entire North Hawaii where the hotels are. Okay. When Governor Burns had built the Queen Kahu Manu Highway to connect and between the West Hawaii and East Hawaii side and from Waimea, Kauai High to Kona, there really was no connection. So he had the foresight, built the highway and we had nothing there. Wow. And our commission to cold and the opportunity for the developer Waikaloa land industries to rezone the entire region. And today, don't we have the diamond in the rough? Absolutely. We have beautiful hotels. We have jobs there available for our people. And we have the opportunity to receive all our visitors that come to stay on the big island. Exactly. With two airports? Two airports, yes. At University of Hawaii. University of Hawaii. Yes. And so much opportunity. Because I myself have worked, there are some projects that I've worked on on the Kona side. And there's so much opportunity to build and grow businesses, industrial businesses as well as potential manufacturing. My message when I was mayor to the people of Hawaii throughout the state that Hawaii island is the future for the state in terms of growth, population. We're too crowded here on Oahu. Absolutely, we are. Yes. I have a condo here. I love it. I have a place to stay to do my people's work while I'm here at the legislature. However, we have room to grow. I've always said that. So there's opportunities for all sorts, including astronomy in my district. You did ask me. That's a big issue. That's a big issue. So we'll get to that. What's your district for? Yes. Okay. We had the opportunity to add one more Senate seat because the Hawaii island before the last reapportionment, we had three. And because of the last reapportionment, we found that the census had, the census told us that Hawaii island increased by 25%. And so Oahu lost one Senate position. And because of the increasing population, so we were, we got the, so you lost a Senate seat and we gained a Senate seat. You gained one. Yes. That makes a lot of sense. Exactly. That makes a lot of sense because what I saw happen was I'm currently living in Senate District 14, but in 2010 I was Senate District 13. And that change happened as a result of all of that. Yes. So with the redistricting, and so I used to be the Senator for East Hawaii for Senate District 1. However, I was absent from, you know, I left in 2008 to run for mayor. Of course, I didn't win. I lost to Mr. Kenoi at that time. However, having said that, but my constituents wanted me back. And so I decided I'm going to run again in 2014. And so having said that with a new district and a new Senate seat, my district runs, if you know how the map is, you have Hilo here and Kona. Right. Okay. So it's right. We're seeing it opposite. Yes. Okay. All right. Kona. Yeah. Hilo and Kona. Right. So my district is only five miles out of Hilo, so where the surf spot is Honolii. And we go down to the map where Mauna Kea Mountain is and Saddle Road going into Kona. And all of that north is my district. There you go. So I travel 200 miles one way in my longest distance. Wow. I have the largest geographical district in the state. However, because of, you know, we're so large that our population is spread out. So I do travel a lot to address my constituents. So I have all the Hamakua coast, I have North Kohala, Waimea, Waikoloa, and parts of Kona. My family has a farm up at Kola-Kola Beach Park. Ah, that's in my district. That's in your district. Yes. Yes. So yeah, they have a macadamia nut grove, and they're trying to grow all sorts of things in Hawaii. Yeah. Everything. And the Hamakua coast where your family grows, it's rather interesting because it has the best soil. So if you're in downtown Hilo and Wailuku River south, heading towards all of Hilo, going to Puna. Yeah. And the geography are more rocky. Yes. Wailuku River north, going through the Hamakua coast into Waimea, North Kohala, are all dirt. It's very rich. And so rich, rich soil. So yes, everything we put in the ground there grows and the amount of rain there. My son and daughter have a farm in combination of seven acres. So they grow lychee and longan and native trees and native flower. That's great. Yes. That's great. Wow. Wow. Spectacular. So you are invested personally in your district and the people of, say, you are mayor of the entire island. So you have a lot of constituents who know you island wide. That's got to be, that's got to feel like an extraordinary responsibility, I would think. So that's one of the things that I always appreciate when we have a legislator, when we have a mayor or a governor who really understands how to give back. And you've made this comment before. It's all about what the people need. Exactly. Right. Tell me about where you come from with that, because I think that's wonderful. Yes. Well, you know, anything that we do in government, and I'm there to do the people's work, whether it's for my island, my district, but the statewide concerns that we need to address as legislators. So having said that, anything that we do in bills that we introduce, we all have to recognize that what we do must be in sequence that everybody enjoys. Though we do, when we look at education as an example, we need a new school here, we need a new school there, where the population is. And that's our job to have the outlook covering and creating, making sure that everybody in the state enjoys. So having said that, being chair of transportation and energy is exciting. I enjoy the work never before in the Senate has one person addressing the two committees, but I guess maybe because of the experience as, you know, former mayor and former council person that, you know, the experience helps. However, it's the issues. And I enjoy transportation because it oversees my committee as chair as well, works well with DOT, and the three components that make up the department. So we have the highways, we have the airports, and we have the harbors. And having said that, that's all part of Hawaii Island as well. You know, we've got two airports, we have two harbors, and, you know, just enjoying our state. You also have every possibility of renewable energy. Exactly, exactly. On your island. And that's, yes, yes. And that's an important thing to understand as well. Everyone wants to go to that island and, you know, the undersea cable. And I think, yes, Carl, you know, and having said that with energy on our island, and I don't think people really know that, that our renewable goal, though, that we all had said, that by 2045 we need to reach 100%. However, our total renewable for the state, I don't think we even reached the 30% yet. However, Hawaii Island already has renewables up to 50%. So we do have everything. You know, we have geothermal, we have wind, we have solar, we have hydro, I mean... Yes, absolutely. And you also have, speaking of hydro, you have hydrogen plants that are being built up there as well. And that's one of the ideas that's being looked at, I believe through HCAP, in order to provide alternative fuel options for our vehicles Exactly. And of course, you know, then with how we move towards to where we want to go to, that biofuels is very, very important in part of the conversation. Yes, and we know there's a bill out right now, the Senate Bill 237, your bill that you introduced. Exactly. I'm very happy to have helped with that bill. Exactly. And doing everything I can to bring a lot of attention to that. So looking forward to more conversation on that. We're going to have to take a quick break in a minute, so I don't want to jump into a big topic. But I wanted to again, thank you for coming on the show. I'm looking forward to our next segment. We're going to talk more about the legislation that you're working on right now, where you think some of the focus could or should be going forward. So I'm looking very much forward to this next segment. Please join us. This is Think Tech Hawaii's Movers, Shakers and Reformers. I'm your host Carl Campania, our guest is Senator Lorena Noe. See you in one minute. The room is called the Governor's Ceremonial Room. And this is where he signs bills. This is where he presents proclamations. This is where students come to learn about the government and how things work here. And so this is really where a lot of things happen. So how things work. So a bill that starts somewhere else in the house, and then it goes to the Senate, and then it goes wherever, and then finally here. So Right. So let's just play it out. Let's say there's a bill 123, HB123, and it gets passed by the House to the Senate. The Senate amends it, so it's now HB123 SD1. And then it goes back. Let's just say that's where it ends up in the Governor's desk. But before it gets there, that bill has to go through a rigorous departmental review. So the Attorney General's Office has to look at it and make sure that it complies with all legal issues. Then the department has to look at it to make sure that it complies with all of the directives that the department is working on and that there's no conflicts, right? So once it passes legal review, department review, then it comes to the Governor's desk. And the Governor then has to decide whether he's going to sign it, whether he's going to veto it, or whether he'll let it become law without his signature. How does it become law without his signature? If by the appointed date it is neither signed nor vetoed, it becomes law without his signature. Welcome back to Think Tech Hawaii's Movershakers and Reformers, politics in Hawaii series. I'm your host Carl Campania. Once again, welcome our guest, Senator Lorena Noe. Thank you again. So okay, let's jump into some legislation. We're just having a really good conversation. This last minute as well, we won't go into that, but my brain is still rolling on that one. But the legislation is currently being worked on. You mentioned the biofuels bill, and there's resolution coming as well. And there's a number of things from that side. There's also energy and storage bills that are being looked at. There are tax credits. And so this all entailed, and that's just energy side. It carries over a little bit into transportation side, how some of that really falls in. From the legislature's perspective, I'm going to start with this question. From the legislature's perspective, we see the intense focus that has been put on trying to address our electricity bills, absolutely necessary and important. And when we're talking about 100% by 2045, we're talking about electricity. Now as we're beginning and where the biofuels fits in is how we're trying to address the other 70% of the barrel of oil that comes in. And there are a lot of ways to address that. So from the legislature's perspective, how are we, what are some of the concerns that have been voiced with regards to addressing that other 70%? Well, let me say that, and I can talk about my goal in the Senate. I can speak for the House, but the direction that we're working through. Having said what you said takes us to a path from what has been transpired with reaching our goals on renewables, what we did last year. But I'm focusing this year on energy storage, energy battery storage. And thanks for your help as well. And biofuels. There are other bills that is before me, which I am kind of putting aside for next year because we all need to understand that this session is a biannual on budget as well and programs. And so whatever bills we have this year that if we don't hear it, it turns over, it's transferred to next year. So it's not something that I will say we will not carry over that we won't do at all. So having said that, my concentration this year, because of the decline that we have right now with solar and PVs, however going to the next stage, I believe, and the support and what we need to do for the industry, for those in the energy industry, for those that have already set the stage with PVs, we need to ensure that we don't overcrowd our grid supply. So I'm concentrating on and we have several bills and several bills that will come over from the house as well. And I think we both agree that we need to at least address energy battery storage this year. And that's my goal. Okay. And so there's your bills include a couple of categories, including some tax credit or rebate or rebate as well as well. Actually, I'll let you do that. Okay. There's another piece that's rather important because we all know that we do have our tax credits that we enjoy now with regards to solar, to wind and everything under the sun that on the 35%. Now the federal on the federal level, they've changed that. And so they have a ramping down to what six year periods? I had a bill last year, which I have for this year as well. We need to start ramping down and not taking too much out of the state coffers because tax credits come, we're taking a lot out of our general fund. And so because of the decline and because we need to address the energy energy storage systems as well as how we're going to then give credit to our energy storage. Right. And so having said that, I hope that the money committees this year would understand what we're trying to do. So let's ramp it down and also make sure that we address how we're going to do the tax credits and or a rebate for energy storage again. And we need to do that. Agreed. It's an important thing to understand that the when we first initiated clean energy initiative in 2009 and it began to roll, the industry got huge and there were jobs everywhere. Exactly. And it was spectacular. Pricing for all of these systems for all these PV systems was high. That pricing has dropped so far it has become more like a commodity compared to what it was when it began. And that was the intention behind the tax credits was let's provide this, let's create the opportunity to ramp it down. Right. So now, now that the pricing for that is on now, now the big price is still the battery. So now how do we shift the focus right storage capabilities? So now it makes sense. If you look at it from that perspective, the commodity part came down. Now this part needs to need some support. So now let's shift some of that over. Exactly. And I think maybe I was a little too premature last year because I don't think people understood what I was trying to do. But so having said that, then visiting it this year and knowing that we need to keep the industry alive, you know, because people lost jobs. Exactly. So now a lot of jobs were lost. Yes. A lot of jobs are lost. A lot of companies that I've worked with, they would have 10 crews, which means probably 40 different people out there working. They went from 10 crews to two crews. Exactly. Jobs gone. Huge, huge problem that your bill is trying to bring back and close. Some of them have gotten smaller. Businesses have closed, which causes maintenance problems for a lot of these. Exactly. Maybe we can go into that. But when we look at the bills, it's not only addressing energy storage for residential. So it addresses, you know, the commercial utility scale as well. With regards to biofuels, the bill I have is to make sure that we give direction to D-Bed, that they do the study to see how we could facilitate. And actually, to me, I'd like to be that process in place now. Yes. But we can't. I mean, we should have a plan. There's a lot more. We have a lot more. And more input from those that see, you know, biomass, biofuels, and see what's out there. Exactly. And so if we do the study, then at least we have a place. Let me offer something. I am fortunate enough that this last summer and fall, I got to work on creating a part of that study, a piece of that study for Pacific Command for Paycom, for the gift pack program. And that's green initiative for fuel transition program for the Pacific. And that was all about creating that supply chain model. What we would need here in Hawaii to have Hawaii be a biofuels center. So that study has begun. Also, HNEI has spent, and Scott Turn and Susan Crow has spent a lot of time developing huge portions of that that are necessary to better understand that path forward. And some of that studies exist right now in D-Bed. So being able to bring all of that together and build a program is what you're trying to... Exactly. And so as we move to the next session, next year, that study should be available for us then telling us where we're going and how we should move and what resources we need. Exactly. Exactly. And so we need the... You know, it's addressing our energy needs because, you know, we are an island state. We're not connected to the mainland. That's right. And so even if we're part of the USA, we need to sustain ourselves. We need to be self-sustaining. Yes, exactly. The number I have in my head is in 2015, the state spent $5.7 billion on imported oil. I think it went up in 2016. So that's a lot of money that leaves the state. Well, having said that, so my next goal, hopefully next year, I know there's some bills looking at transportation because we know that transportation at least is part of... I think there are more like 80% of petroleum. And so looking at transportation systems, what we're going to do? Are we going to concentrate on electricity, EVs for transportation? But you know what I'd like to see? I'd like to see options. We need every option. We need every option. And my goal is first on the government side is to look at experimentals with our State Department of Transportation and the vehicles that they have statewide. Absolutely. So the state fleet. Exactly. Exactly. I know that I got to participate in a couple of forums that included the director, Ford Futugami. Yes. And he agrees completely. Yes. And he's looking at a number of different ways to try to achieve that. Well, see, and then talking about charging stations is another topic this year. So what's important, though, and I have reservations about the process, how we're going to proceed, because I know that what's before us as well is on EV because it's a specialty. I mean, people have a choice whether they want to remain using gas. Right. We have opportunities to use, to buy EVs, electric vehicles. So who puts in the charging stations is where I have a stall? Is it government that does it or the industry? Is it a commercial thing? Is it a commercial? Yes. And so we need to kind of work along with ideas, opportunities, but let's remember what government is there for. That's right. To take care of the health and safety of our people. So when you know it's the resources go in different directions, we really have to rethink what we're doing. That's what makes your job hard. That's why we need participation from the industry. That, you know, you need to pay your fair share. That's right. The stakeholders need to be involved in the understanding. There's not just your benefit. It's the state benefit. It's the people benefit. Exactly. So okay, so to summarize, for your agenda this session, you're looking at for energy. For energy purposes, you're looking at tax credits and perhaps readjusting some tax credits and focusing them on storage, batteries. As well as rebates or rebates. Exactly. Exactly. As well as biofuels. Exactly. And so from an energy perspective and carrying over a bit in the transportation, that's what you're looking at and how you're trying to move along this session. Yes. Now on the transportation side though, we all know that my committee also needs to address our rail. So we're working on that. And so I'm a big supporter of making sure that we complete the rail system. I was here in 2005 as chair of the transportation committee that did the first pass to allow the city and county to raise the GE. And so I was there and I'm back here again. And so I had the opportunity then to extend the rail three years ago again to detect the excise tax. But we're here looking at how we're going to proceed if we're going to take care and address the sunset of raising the GE for city and county in perpetuity. And so that's a challenge we have before us. It's a big challenge. I would love to help with that as well. I've got construction background and I see what's going on and I would love to help us. So please. So thank you. Unfortunately we are already done. And there's another hour. Please. Yes. Let me know. When we're down with the first pass. Perfect. Before crossover. Okay. What builds our life. So April. Let's come back in April. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much. And thank you for joining us. Thank Tecawise, Movershakers and Informers. Thank you to all of the staff and crew. We'll see you next week.