Honolulu Star-Advertiser from Honolulu, Hawaii • A1

UH basketball Gib Arnold 'cast as the says coach's attorney, sports COOL ROOF STORE B3 of PARADIS 4 oca environmentalist calls a planned tax break for the industry "nonsensical" By Kevin Dayton kdaytonstaradvertiser.com State lawmakers voted this year to expand an energy tax on imported fossil fuels such as oil, propane and liquefied natural gas but carved out a special tax break for coal that was sought by industry lobbyists. The exemption for coal was pursued by AES Hawaii which produces about 20 percent of Oahu's power at any given time by burning about 700,000 tons of coal per mental groups, who contend the energy tax should apply equally to all fossil fuels. "It seems pretty nonsensical to me," said Richard Wallsgrove, program director for Blue Planet Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes the use of clean energy. The temporary exemption for coal included in the final version of Senate Bill 359 this year is almost identical to language proposed by AES this year and also in 2013 when lawmakers considered a similar energy tax, so "there's no doubt that this exemption came from the coal industry," Wallsgrove said. Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of the Land, said the state should be imposing energy taxes and regulatory requirements evenly.

"Fossil fuel is fossil fuel. Coal, oil and natural gas should all have the same tax rate imposed on them," Curtis said. But Walsh said AES sells power to Hawaiian Electric Co. by contract at a fixed price, and the company would have no way to pass the cost of a new tax on to HECO or the utility's customers. That power the company produces by burning coal is "by far" the cheapest electricity being produced in Hawaii, he said, which is good for consumers.

Walsh described AES as "the bridge and the Please see COAL, A7 year at its plant in Campbell Industrial Park. The tax break approved by law makers could benefit AES for as many as seven years. Jeff Walsh, president and general manager of AES, said the savings to the company from the tax break would be "significant," but declined to be more specific. That special tax exemption for coal is being questioned by representatives from some local environ LOCAL TODAY By Kevin Dayton kdaytonstaradvertiser.com Bill to keep data from public gets to the governor The open-records law would exempt facts holding "risk of physical harm" Advocates for open records are skeptical about the need for the measure, because existing privacy requirements already prevent the government from releasing sensitive personal information such as home addresses. "I think the passage of this bill and the failure of other Please see RECORDS, A6 HSTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS REJECTS RESULTS OF ELECTION Voting for teachers union president and other offices will be redone Bl PEDIATRICIAN'S LIGHTER SIDE SHOWS IN BEAR COLLECTION A retired doctor boasts a collection of more than 400 plush teddy bears Dl Lawmakers have approved a new exemption to the state open-records law that allows government records to be withheld from the public if releasing that information "would create a substantial and demonstrable risk of physical harm" to a person.

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