STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1497

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 661
                                        H.D. 3
                                        S.D. 2




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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B.
No. 661, H.D. 3, S.D. 1, entitled: 

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to provide a mechanism for
regulating and funding phase I and phase II wireless enhanced 911
service.

     "Phase I wireless enhanced 911 service" is an emergency
telephone system, as defined by Federal Communications Commission
order, in which wireless 911 calls and information on the
caller's automatic number identification and the cell site in
which the call originates are routed to an appropriate public
safety answering point.  "Phase II wireless enhanced 911 service"
is an emergency telephone system, as defined by Federal
Communications Commission order, in which wireless 911 calls and
information on the caller's automatic number identification and
automatic (geographic) location identification (as opposed to
just the cell site in which the call originates) are routed to an
appropriate public safety answering point.

     Specifically, this bill:


 
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     (1)  Establishes a twelve-member wireless enhanced 911
          advisory board within the Department of Health, with
          members appointed by the Governor and by public safety
          answering points in each county;

     (2)  Establishes the wireless enhanced 911 fund outside the
          state treasury for the purpose of ensuring adequate
          cost recovery for the deployment of wireless enhanced
          911 service in Hawaii;

     (3)  Requires the wireless enhanced 911 advisory board to
          establish a monthly wireless enhanced 911 surcharge on
          each commercial mobile radio service connection if a
          public safety answering point requests wireless
          enhanced 911 service from a provider of commercial
          mobile radio service;

     (4)  Allows providers of commercial mobile radio service to
          request reimbursement from the wireless enhanced 911
          fund for incurred wireless enhanced 911 commercial
          mobile radio service costs;

     (5)  Requires providers of facilities-based commercial
          mobile radio service and resellers of commercial mobile
          radio service to be audited to ensure that the wireless
          enhanced 911 surcharge recovers only legitimate costs
          and expenses directly related to the provision of phase
          I and phase II wireless enhanced 911 service;

     (6)  Prohibits the disclosure of proprietary information
          submitted to the wireless enhanced 911 advisory board,
          a third party employed by the board, or a public safety
          answering point;

     (7)  Limits the liability of providers of facilities-based
          commercial mobile radio service and public safety
          answering points to damages caused by their gross
          negligence, wanton and wilful misconduct, or bad faith;

     (8)  Deems commercial mobile radio service location
          information obtained by a public safety answering point
          or public safety agency for public safety purposes not
          to be a government record open to disclosure;

     (9)  Allows providers of facilities-based commercial mobile
          radio service, resellers of commercial mobile radio
          service, and public safety answering points to submit

 
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          disputes with the wireless enhanced 911 board to
          arbitration; and

    (10)  Exempts the wireless enhanced 911 fund from assessments
          for central service expenses and departmental
          administrative expenses.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Deleting the provision characterizing the wireless
          enhanced 911 board as an "advisory" body to be
          consistent with the powers and duties of the board;

     (2)  Limiting the applicability of this bill to the original
          order issued in Federal Communication Commission Docket
          No. 94-102 governing wireless enhanced 911 service;

     (3)  Moving the provision (A) prohibiting moneys paid into
          the wireless enhanced 911 fund from being considered
          general fund revenues of the State, and (B) requiring
          these moneys to be kept in a fund separate and apart
          from the general fund of the State, from the definition
          of "wireless enhanced 911 fund" to section    -3 of the
          new chapter created by section 2 of this bill;

     (4)  Requiring the Governor, rather than public safety
          answering points, to appoint the county representatives
          of the wireless enhanced 911 board;

     (5)  Clarifying that section 26-34 (selection and terms of
          members of boards and commissions), Hawaii Revised
          Statutes, applies to the members of the wireless
          enhanced 911 board only as it relates to (A) the
          members' succession and suspension, and (B) the filling
          of vacant positions on the board;

     (6)  Providing for the imposition of an unspecified civil
          penalty--the amount of which has yet to be determined--
          if proprietary information identified by statute or
          rule is disclosed to an unauthorized person;

     (7)  Clarifying that providers of facilities-based
          commercial mobile radio service can be held liable for
          damages resulting from bad faith, in addition to gross
          negligence and wanton and wilful misconduct;


 
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     (8)  Clarifying that providers of facilities-based
          commercial mobile radio service, resellers of
          commercial mobile radio service, and public safety
          answering points may submit disputes with the wireless
          enhanced 911 board to final and binding arbitration;

     (9)  Adding provisions to prevent the unintentional repeal
          of the amendments made to sections 36-27 (transfers
          from special funds for central service expenses) and
          36-30 (special fund reimbursements for departmental
          administrative expenses), Hawaii Revised Statutes, by
          sections 3 and 4 of this bill, when sections 36-27 and
          36-30 are reenacted in their previous forms at a later
          date by operation of law; and

    (10)  Making numerous technical nonsubstantive changes for
          purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
661, H.D. 3, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it
pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 661,
H.D. 3, S.D. 2.

                                 Respectfully submitted on behalf
                                 of the members of the Committee
                                 on Ways and Means,



                                 ________________________________
                                 CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair



                                 ________________________________
                                 ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair

 
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