STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1153

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 661
                                        H.D. 3
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which
was referred H.B. No. 661, H.D. 3, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENHANCED WIRELESS EMERGENCY
     911 SERVICE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to implement a cost recovery
mechanism to allow commercial mobile radio service (CMRS)
providers to recover costs associated with providing wireless
enhanced 911 (E911) service.  This measure would create a
Wireless Enhanced 911 fund (Fund), and establish an E911 Advisory
Board (Board) with the authority to adjust surcharges to ensure
full recovery of E911 costs.     

     The Police Department of the City and County of Honolulu
presented testimony in support of the measure.  The Department of
Health, the Consumer Advocate, Hawaiian Wireless, Honolulu
Cellular, AT&T and GTE presented testimony in support of the
measure with proposed amendments.  Although not present at the
hearing, Western Wireless Corporation submitted written testimony
in support of the measure with proposed amendments.  

     Your Committee finds that E911 services would give emergency
personnel the ability to locate emergency CMRS calls and increase
the odds of saving lives and assisting citizens in emergency
situations.


 
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     Also, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has
enacted regulations that require CMRS providers to provide E911
service upon request, if a cost recovery system is in place to
allow CMRS providers to recover costs incurred in providing E911
services.

     Your Committee further finds that this measure is necessary
to establish a cost recovery mechanism in the form of a surcharge
that would allow CMRS providers to implement an E911 service
plan.  This surcharge would be comparable to the surcharge
consumers now pay today on their landline phones. 

     CMRS providers and the Consumer Advocate have worked
diligently to develop rules to establish and administer a cost
recovery mechanism so that E911 service will be available to the
residents of the State.  Your Committee has worked to incorporate
their suggestions into this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this measure to:

     (1)  Restructure the Fund to establish a central fund
          administered by the Board, from which CMRS providers
          may apply for reimbursements of E911 costs;

     (2)  Increase the number of Board members and restructure
          the Board in order to add representation from the
          Consumer Advocate, two small CMRS providers, two large
          CMRS providers and two at-large CMRS providers;

     (3)  Require the Board to review and evaluate the surcharge
          and fund to make recommendations as to whether the
          surcharge and fund should be continued, discontinued or
          amended;

     (4)  Clarify the effective date of the surcharge;

     (5)  Provide for a specific priority for disbursements from
          the fund;

     (6)  Provide for added safeguards to protect proprietary
          information from unnecessary disclosure to
          representatives of competitor CMRS providers.

     (7)  Lower the cap on funds available to Public Service
          Answering Points from twenty-five per cent to three and
          one-half per cent to account for the change of the
          structure of the fund;


 
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     (8)  Clarify that the Fund is a special fund outside the
          State Treasury;

     (9)  Make technical and non-substantive amendments for
          clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to
this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of H.B. No. 661, H.D. 3, as amended herein, and
recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached
hereto as H.B. No. 661, H.D. 3, S.D. 1, and be referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Commerce and
                                   Consumer Protection,



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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