STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2256

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2284
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which
was referred S.B. No. 2284 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PUBLIC UTILITIES
     COMMISSION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to establish an intervenor
program to assist consumers in proceedings before the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) and to appropriate funds to the PUC
for the creation and maintenance of an Internet website. 

     Testimony on this measure was received from the PUC,
Division of Consumer Advocacy of the Department of Commerce and
Consumer Affairs, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., AT&T, Kauai
Electric, The Gas Company, GTE, Life of the Land, and Na Lei
Pohai.

     The establishment of an intervenor program would allow
parties other than the utilities and the Consumer Advocate to
present information and positions on issues affecting the
interests of utility consumers, and enable the PUC to engage in
more reasoned and informed decisionmaking.  The PUC already
allows interested parties to intervene in the Integrated Resource
Planning (IRP) process, and an intervenor program could provide
support for the activities of intervenors in the IRP process and
on other utility issues.


 
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     Your Committee finds the creation of a PUC website would
allow the PUC to disseminate information about its activities to
the public in a timely, efficient, and cost-effective manner.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee finds that a
measure passed by your Committee last session that establishes an
intervenors fund remains a viable vehicle for the establishment
of an intervenor program.  Accordingly, your Committee has
amended this measure by deleting language establishing an
intervenor program.  Additionally, your Committee has amended the
measure to appropriate funds for a PUC website out of the PUC
special fund, rather than the general fund.

     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 S.B. No. 2284, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B.
No. 2284, 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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