STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2137

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2523
                                        S.D. 1




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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No.
2523 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FEES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to cap fees for copying state
and county government records at 25 cents per page.

     Your Committee finds that the present law requires
government agencies to charge a minimum of five cents per page,
but places no cap on the amount that may be charged.  Your
Committee further finds that the cost per page of copying
standard pages, even if the copy machine operator were the
governor himself, is no greater than five cents per page.  Your
Committee notes that there may be additional costs associated
with reproduction of records, such as staff time needed to search
for records.  However, your Committee believes that a cap of 25
cents per page for a record copying charge allows more than
enough to cover those additional costs.  Your Committee finds
that placing a cap on the amount that may be charged for records,
and repealing the current minimum amount required to be charged,
will improve public access to government.

     Your Committee finds that oversized records, such as maps
and plats, may be substantially more costly to reproduce than
standard sized records.  Your Committee believes that agencies
working with such oversized records should be able to charge a
fee equal to or less than the actual cost of reproduction.

 
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     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Office of Information Practices, Common Cause Hawaii, Life of the
Land, and three individuals.  Testimony partly in opposition and
partly in support of this measure was submitted by the Department
of Accounting and General Services.  Testimony in opposition to
this measure was submitted by a Hawaii County Council member and
the United Public Workers.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by:

     (1)  Deleting provisions preempting county action, as
          precedence of statutes over county ordinances already
          prevents a county from enacting an ordinance contrary
          to the statute, and the preemption clause could
          potentially prevent counties and agencies from setting,
          by rule or ordinance, a copying fee within the range
          permitted by the statute;

     (2)  Permitting an agency to charge a higher fee for
          oversized documents, up to the actual cost of
          reproduction; and

     (3)  Requiring that an agency charging a higher fee for
          oversized documents explain how the fee is calculated
          upon request by a member of the public.

     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.
2523, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2523, 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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