STAND. COM. REP. NO. 177

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 1016
                                        S.D. 1




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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No.
1016 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ADMINISTRATIVE RULES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to set a maximum of ten cents
per page for the amount each state agency, other than the
Lieutenant Governor's office for rules in its general collection,
may charge for copies of rules or proposed rules.  The bill
allows separate charges for searching, identifying, and
segregating rules to be copied.  In addition, this bill requires
that the full text of proposed rules be prepared by the proposing
agency and posted on the Lieutenant Governor's website.

     Your Committee finds that there has been confusion among
state agencies as to whether existing law requires them to charge
for copies of rules and proposed rules, and whether they may set
their own fees.  Your Committee further finds that based upon an
opinion issued by the Attorney General, agencies have been
charging for copies of rules and proposed rules at the rate of
fifty cents per page.  Your Committee believes that this is an
inordinately high rate which presents a significant and
unnecessary barrier to public access to rules and the rulemaking
process.

     In addition, your Committee finds that the provisions of the
proposed bill requiring agencies to make available internet
versions of their proposed rules through the Lieutenant

 
a                                                     
                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 177
                                   Page 2


Governor's website will greatly improve access to the agency
rulemaking process by allowing members of the public to download
the full text of proposed rules directly from their homes or
businesses.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Department of Accounting and General Services, the Legislative
Reference Bureau, the Office of Information Practices, and
Hawaii's Thousand Friends.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by making technical, non-substantive changes for the
purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No.
1016, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1016, S.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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