Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 584 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to amend the laws governing escrow depositories to:

(2) Establish procedures for closing a branch office;

The Division of Financial Institutions of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (Division), testified in support of this measure. The Office of Information Practices opposed the confidentiality provisions of this bill.

Your Committee finds that this bill recognizes in statute, and provides further assurance of protection for, confidential portions of escrow depository company applications and records that have heretofore been protected solely by administrative rule. Your Committee further finds that this measure will provide more guidance and clarity regarding the procedure for closing a branch office, and will standardize voluntary escrow depository termination procedures with those that apply to other financial institutions regulated by the Division.

Your Committee has concerns regarding the new fee for a request to search, review, or segregate Division records based on the actual time spent at $40 per hour. Your Committee understands that these types of requests by the public are infrequent, and believes the fee may unduly discourage public access to government records.

For this reason, your Committee has amended this measure to remove the fee. Other technical, nonsubstantive amendments were made for style, clarity, and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 584, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 584, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.