SUPPORT SB1166 SD2: Hold Fossil Fuel Companies Accountable
/Bill Background & Info
SB1166 SD2, a critical bill that has been “held over” and now resurrected from last session, is being heard by the House Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee on Wednesday, March 18 at 2pm in Conference Room 329 (watch online here). Please take a moment now to submit written testimony and provide verbal testimony on Wednesday if can!
What SB1166 SD2 does:
This measure would allow insurance companies to hold Big Oil accountable for climate-related disaster payouts - providing potentially significant relief to policyholders already facing skyrocketing insurance premiums, while making fossil fuel giants pay for the harms they will inflict on our islands and communities.
Why this is important:
Hawaiʻi is drowning - literally and figuratively - in skyrocketing home insurance rates, as well as from ever-worsening sea level rise, floods, and other climate disasters that are driving this insurance crisis. Meanwhile, the perpetrators of the climate crisis continue to make trillions of dollars per year, even as they work to condemn our children, grandchildren, and generations yet unborn to a future of unprecedented devastation.
SB166 SD2 will allow Hawaiʻi to do its part in the fight against the fossil fuel companies that are drowning our islands and killing our planet, by allowing the state and insurance providers to file suit and make these corporations pay for the damage they are inflicting on our ‘āina and people. Funds recovered from these lawsuits will also help to stabilize our insurance rates, and keep insurers from leaving Hawaiʻi.
Sample Testimony for SB1166 SD2
Aloha Chair Matayoshi, Vice Chair Grandinetti, and Members of the Committee,
My name is ______ and I STRONGLY SUPPORT SB1166 SD1.
Hawaiʻi is already experiencing the growing impacts of climate destabilization, from skyrocketing insurance premiums to increasingly severe storms and weather-related disasters. Families and communities across our islands, along with their insurance companies, are being forced to shoulder the financial burden of a crisis driven by decades of deception and cover-ups perpetrated by the fossil fuel industry. This bill accordingly seeks both financial relief for local residents, and greater fairness and accountability in our existential fight against climate destabilization.
SB1166 SD1 would allow insurers serving Hawaiʻi to pursue claims against fossil fuel companies and other responsible parties for payouts arising from climate disasters. By doing so, it helps ensure that the costs of these events are not borne solely by Hawaiʻi residents and their insurance providers. This will help protect local homeowners and businesses from even higher insurance costs or losing insurance coverage altogether. It will also help Hawaiʻi insurance providers do their part in the fight to hold Big Oil and other fossil fuel giants accountable for the harms they are inflicting and will continue to inflict on our communities, economy, and future generations.
To the extent that state funds may also be used to provide alternative insurance coverage for those priced out by private providers, such as through the Hawaiʻi Hurricane Relief Fund, I respectfully but strongly urge the committee to also enable the state Attorney General to pursue claims against fossil fuel corporations for taxpayer-funded payouts arising from climate disasters.
Accordingly, I respectfully urge the Committee to PASS this measure, with the amendment described above.
Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Testimony instructions
Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)
Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.
Enter "SB1166" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."
Input your information and your written testimony, select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Please consider providing verbal testimony (in-person or remotely) if you are able!
Note: Virtual testimony option may be disabled 24 hours before the hearing.
If you are testifying via Zoom, be sure to review these instructions (page 4)