REPORT TITLE:
Boards & Commissions Sunset


DESCRIPTION:
Provides that 30 days after submission of an Auditor's report to
the legislature finding that a professional or vocational board
or commission of a regulatory program not listed in section 26H-4
fails to advance the public interest as expressed in policies
identified by the Legislature in section 26H-2, and recommending
that the board or commission be abolished, state maintenance of
the board or commission shall cease, the terms of members of
board or commission shall expire, and further appointments to the
board are prohibited unless disapproved by two-thirds vote of
either the senate or house of representatives or by majority vote
of both.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        1865
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The Hawaii Regulatory Licensing Reform Act, Act
 
 2 70, Session Laws of Hawaii 1977, was enacted in response to
 
 3 growing concern over the rapid proliferation of professional and
 
 4 vocational licensing boards and commissions, and the perception
 
 5 that these served the interests of the regulated industry, rather
 
 6 than the interests of the consumer.  Act 70 set forth criteria to
 
 7 be used to evaluate and determine whether existing regulatory
 
 8 programs should be modified or discontinued.  The criteria were
 
 9 codified in section 26H-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
 
10      Under Act 70, each chapter regulating a profession or
 
11 vocation was scheduled for repeal.  The statutorily-created board
 
12 or commission of the regulated profession or vocation was
 
13 required to assess whether its statutory program complied with
 
14 the section 26H-2 criteria, and to submit a report to the
 
15 legislature one year prior to the applicable repeal date.  New
 
16 legislation was required to continue regulatory programs reviewed
 
17 under Act 70.  
 
18      In 1979, the review component of this automatic review and
 
19 repeal law was amended to require that assessments be performed
 

 
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 1 by the legislative auditor.  This amendment was made to "better
 
 2 provide for consumer interests. . . [and] a more objective
 
 3 viewpoint in assessing the value of the particular regulation
 
 4 under review."  Recognizing that automatic review of every
 
 5 existing professional or vocational regulatory program consumed a
 
 6 disproportionate amount of the auditor's limited resources, in
 
 7 1994 the legislature restricted automatic review and repeal to
 
 8 professional or vocational regulatory programs enacted after July
 
 9 1, 1994.  The legislature further limited this procedure in 1996
 
10 to regulatory programs actually listed in section 26H-4, Hawaii
 
11 Revised Statutes.
 
12      The legislature finds that existing policies and procedures
 
13 amplify the influence of special interests and should be re-
 
14 examined to more fairly represent the interest of the general
 
15 public.  In addition, the legislature finds that the question of
 
16 whether the activities of a board or commission further the
 
17 policies that have been identified by the legislature as
 
18 justifying regulation, is a question best resolved through an
 
19 assessment performed by an objective and informed agency like the
 
20 legislative auditor.  Once the question is resolved, state
 
21 maintenance of the board or commission may not be justified, and
 
22 should be discontinued without delay.
 

 
 
 
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 1      The purpose of this Act is to provide a mechanism for the
 
 2 expeditious removal of unnecessary vocational and professional
 
 3 regulatory boards and commissions that serve the interests of
 
 4 regulated industry, rather than the interests of the consumer.
 
 5      SECTION 2.  Chapter 26H, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 6 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
 7 read as follows:
 
 8      "§26H-     Boards and commissions; auditor's evaluation.
 
 9 (a)  The term of members of any board or commission of a
 
10 professional or vocational regulatory program not listed in
 
11 section 26H-4 may be reduced and subsequent appointments to the
 
12 board or commission shall be prohibited as provided by this
 
13 section.
 
14      (b)  The auditor shall evaluate a professional or vocational
 
15 regulatory board or commission upon passage of a concurrent
 
16 resolution requesting the auditor to conduct a study determining
 
17 whether the continued maintenance of the board or commission is
 
18 consistent with the policies of section 26H-2.  The auditor shall
 
19 submit its report of its findings and recommendations to the
 
20 legislature, governor, director, and board or commission
 
21 evaluated, within the time specified by the concurrent
 
22 resolution.
 

 
 
 
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 1      (c)  Each board or commission shall assist the auditor in
 
 2 collecting and reporting data, as the auditor may require, to
 
 3 conduct the study.
 
 4      (d)  The auditor shall provide the board or commission not
 
 5 less than thirty days to review and comment on the study.  The
 
 6 auditor shall append any written comments received from the board
 
 7 or commission to each copy of the report that is submitted to the
 
 8 legislature.
 
 9      (e)  Where the auditor's report recommends that a board or
 
10 commission should be abolished, the terms of the members of the
 
11 board or commission shall expire thirty days after the
 
12 adjournment sine die of the legislature to which the report was
 
13 submitted; provided that the terms of the members shall not be
 
14 reduced under this section if the auditor's recommendation is
 
15 disapproved by resolution passed by two-thirds vote of either the
 
16 senate or the house of representatives, or by concurrent
 
17 resolution.
 
18      Upon adjournment sine die of the legislature that received
 
19 the report and if the legislature has not disapproved the
 
20 auditor's recommendation to abolish the board or commission, no
 
21 further appointments shall be made to the board or commission
 
22 except as subsequently authorized by statute.  The director shall
 
23 reassign responsibilities of any board or commission administered
 

 
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 1 by the director and terminated under this section if the report
 
 2 finds that those responsibilities further the policies identified
 
 3 under section 26H-2 and may be cost-effectively reassigned within
 
 4 the department of commerce and consumer affairs."
 
 5      SECTION 3.  Section 26H-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 6 amended to read as follows:
 
 7      "§26H-2 Policy.  The legislature hereby adopts the
 
 8 following policies regarding the regulation of certain
 
 9 professions and vocations:
 
10      (1)  The regulation and licensing of professions and
 
11           vocations shall be undertaken only where reasonably
 
12           necessary to protect the health, safety, or welfare of
 
13           consumers of the services; the purpose of regulation
 
14           shall be the protection of the public welfare and not
 
15           that of the regulated profession or vocation;
 
16      (2)  Regulation in the form of full licensure or other
 
17           restrictions on certain professions or vocations shall
 
18           be retained or adopted when the health, safety, or
 
19           welfare of the consumer may be jeopardized by the
 
20           nature of the service offered by the provider;
 
21      (3)  Evidence of abuses by providers of the service shall be
 
22           accorded great weight in determining whether regulation
 
23           is desirable;
 

 
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 1      (4)  Professional and vocational regulations [which] that
 
 2           artificially increase the costs of goods and services
 
 3           to the consumer shall be avoided except in those cases
 
 4           where the legislature determines that this cost is
 
 5           exceeded by the potential danger to the consumer;
 
 6      (5)  Professional and vocational regulations shall be
 
 7           eliminated when [the legislature determines that] they
 
 8           [have no further benefits to] no longer benefit
 
 9           consumers;
 
10      (6)  Regulation shall not unreasonably restrict entry into
 
11           professions and vocations by all qualified persons;
 
12           [and]
 
13      (7)  Fees for regulation and licensure shall be imposed for
 
14           all vocations and professions subject to regulation;
 
15           provided that the aggregate of the fees for any given
 
16           regulatory program shall not be less than the full cost
 
17           of administering that program[.]; and
 
18      (8)  Professional and vocational regulation shall not be
 
19           imposed or shall be eliminated if:
 
20           (A)  Other private or public agencies provide adequate
 
21                protections;
 
22           (B)  Regulatory objectives may be cost-effectively
 
23                reassigned within the department of commerce and
 
24                consumer affairs; or
 

 
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 1           (C)  Regulatory objectives may be undertaken by the
 
 2                industry to be regulated and governmental
 
 3                participation is not necessary to protect the
 
 4                public health, safety, or welfare."
 
 5      SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 6 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 7      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 8 
 
 9                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________
 
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