HI HR44

Requests the Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' Division of Consumer Advocacy to convene a working group to create a Hawaii Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program for low-income households.

Establishes working group membership including representatives from state departments, utility companies, the Hawaii State Energy Office, Hawaii Energy, and legislative committee chairs.

Requires the working group to submit findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation to the Legislature and Governor no later than twenty days before the 2023 Regular Session.

Addresses Hawaii's high electricity rates (nearly three times the national average) and notes that 42 percent of households fall below the ALICE financial hardship threshold, with federal emergency rental assistance funds scheduled to end September 30, 2025.

Notes that fewer than 9,000 Hawaii households (about 2 percent) participated in the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in 2020, and that program participation is limited by available annual funding.