STAND. COM. REP. NO. 759

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 738
                                        S.D. 1




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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was
referred S.B. No. 738 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NOISE POLLUTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to require the Department of
Health (DOH) to grant or reject noise control permits within
thirty days instead of one-hundred-eighty days.

     The measure further requires the director to act on an
application within ninety days if the director deems a public
informational meeting, hearing, or notice is appropriate, and to
extend the ninety-day period an additional ninety days if
extraordinary circumstances exist.  If the director does not act
on this application within one-hundred-eighty days of the receipt
of the application then the application is deemed granted.

     Testimony in support of this measure was received from the
DOH, Hawaiian Electric Company and its subsidiary Maui Electric
Company, the Building Industry Association of Hawaii, Hidano
Construction, Inc., and Jas. W. Glover, Ltd.  Testimony in
opposition was received from Hawaii's Thousand Friends.

     Your Committee finds that shortening the time allowed for
the Department of Health to issue noise control permits, as
called for in this measure, is a fair compromise between the
needs of the Department to examine an application thoroughly and

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 759
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the needs of the construction industry for an expedient
permitting process.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by deleting language
which would have deemed an application granted upon the failure
of the director to act on an application within 180 days.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this
report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose
of S.B. No. 738, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 738,
S.D. 1.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Health and Human
                                   Services,



                                   ______________________________
                                   SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair

 
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