Support Carbon Cashback

Help us pass Carbon Cashback!

Ask House Speaker Saiki to re-refer HB1146 to the Finance Committee, so it can be heard. Sign our open letter to Speaker Saiki to get your voice heard.

ACTION TO TAKE NOW

HB1146 (Referred to EEP, CPC, FIN) HB1146 Passed the EEP hearing but must be re-referred!

Since the bill has not been scheduled for a hearing in the CPC committee we are urging that the bill be waived from the CPC referral and moved on to the Finance Committee. Email or Call Speaker Saiki and CPC Committee Chair Nakashima.

House Speaker Saiki - Phone: 808-586-6100, repsaiki@capitol.hawaii.gov

CPC Chair Nakashima - Phone: 808-586-6680 , repnakashima@capitol.hawaii.gov

Here are two sample emails/calls you could use:

Aloha Speaker Saiki (or Chair Nakashima),

I'd like to ask you to waive the CPC referral of HB 1146 so that it becomes a double referral rather than a triple referral and remains alive.  This bill would substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and do so in an equitable manner.

 HB 1146 is very similar to HB 1498, which you introduced, and HB 1146 appears to have the support of the CPC committee.  Reps. Amato, Gates, Hussey-Burdick, Lowen, and Tam co-signed HB 1146.  Last year, Rep. Sayama introduced HB 2278, a very similar carbon fee and dividend bill, and Reps. Nakashima and Hashem co-signed it.    Those last three CPC members voted for the bill at Third Reading, along with Reps. Belatti and Onishi.  Rep. Pierick is the only CPC member who has not supported a carbon fee and dividend bill.

Many bills must be passed if Hawaii is to do its part to mitigate climate change.  HB 1146 complements all other efforts to do so because it shifts the entire economy away from fossil fuels and toward clean, renewable energy.

Thank you for your consideration.

Name and Town

Aloha Speaker Saiki/Chair Nakashima,

Please give a re-referral to HB1146. Scientists around the world say it’s not only the most important policy to combat climate change but also necessary to avoid the worst outcomes.

Please follow the guidance of the experts in the field and move this bill forward.

Thank you for your consideration.

Name and Town

Drafting your Testimony

Here are a few suggestions to make your testimony effective:

• Include your position on the matter at the start and end of your testimony. Make it personal - add a relevant personal experience and include a fact from our Talking Points or FAQs pages. Keep it succinct- short testimony is acceptable.

• If you don’t have much time, you can indicate support for the measure. Every testimony counts.

• Create your testimony on a notepad or WORD document. This will allow you to create testimony for a specific bill and hearing quickly. (Similar content can be used throughout the process.)

The following is a sample testimony. You may use this as a starting point, but be sure to personalize it!

I strongly support [ADD BILL NUMBER] because it will reduce carbon emissions by placing a tax on companies that import fossil fuels into Hawai‘i and use the tax revenues to fund a rebate that will be distributed to Hawai‘i residents in equal shares.  

The carbon tax reduces emissions by incentivizing businesses and individuals to use less fossil fuel, which is warming the Earth and creating climate havoc globally.  The rebate is the same for everyone, regardless of income, which makes the bill progressive.  Most families will experience a net financial gain because their rebate will be larger than the higher prices they will pay for fossil fuels.  Low-income families will experience a more substantial gain than high-income families because they use less fossil fuel.  The bill is revenue neutral because the rebate is funded by the carbon tax on importers, which also pays for administrative costs.  Hawai‘i must take a multi-pronged approach to do its part to reduce emissions, and this bill works with all other efforts to do so.

Tips for Submitting Testimony

• To submit testimony to the Hawaii Legislature, you'll need to have an account (you'll need to log in before you can submit testimony). To create an account, go to the Hawaii State Legislature Registration Page and click the 'Register' link in the upper right corner. For tutorials covering account set-up, signing up for notices of hearings, submitting testimony, and other relevant actions, visit the Legislative Reference Bureau resource page.

• Link to short video on registering and submitting testimony

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