Hearing on Solar Energy Bill

There is a hearing on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 at 2:00 p.m. in room 224 on some bills of interest to community associations before the Senate Energy, Environment & International Affairs Committee before Chair,Sen. J. Kalani English and the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing Committee before Chair Sen. Ron Menor. The hearing notice discusses the following bills of interest to community associations:

HB 1017 HD3 This bill would require townhouse associations to permit solar energy devices and require the association to adopt rules regarding the placement of solar energy devices. The proposed law is probably unconstitutional as the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a similar situation that any physical taking of real property under laws of this type requires just compensation. The common elements in a condominium are jointly owned by all the members of a condominium and the roof of a townhouse is normally a common element. The proponents of this bill fail to understand that the roof that they want to use is not owned by the owner of the unit, but owned by all the members of the condominium. The bill also has practical problems. It does not address the common situation where the Association's roof warranty may be voided by the penetration of pipes through the roof. It also does not require the owner of the unit to remove the solar energy device if it is necessary or convenient for the orderly maintenance of the common elements.

Persons wishing to testify should choose one of the following options; submit 35 copies of their testimony to the committee clerk, Room 205, State Capitol, 24 hours prior to the hearing, testimony may also be faxed if less than 5 pages in length, to the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms Office at 586-6659 or 1-800-586-6659 (toll free for neighbor islands), at least 24 hours prior to the hearing. E-mail testimony will not be accepted. When faxing, please indicate to whom the testimony is being submitted, the date and time of the hearing, and the required number of copies needed for submittal.