STAND. COM. REP. NO.1086
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: H.B. No. 597
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 597 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRAVEL SERVICES,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to strengthen consumer protections in the area of travel services.
The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs testified in support of this measure.
Recent cases of travel operations mismanagement underscore the need for stronger laws governing the regulation of travel agencies and charter tour operators. This measure strengthens the existing regulatory scheme by:
(1) Specifying grounds for the denial of a travel agency's or charter tour operator's registration;
(2) Establishing recordkeeping standards for client trust accounts;
(3) Prohibiting practices that harm consumers or put them at risk of harm;
(4) Authorizing the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew a registration; and
(5) Establishing remedies for violations of the regulatory laws.
Your Committee finds that this measure will help to better protect consumers of travel services without imposing excessive or burdensome requirements on the providers of travel services.
Your Committee has amended this measure by replacing its contents with the language of S.B. No. 1073, S.D. 1, a substantively similar measure that reflects preferred drafting style and by making additional technical amendments.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 597, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 597, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing,
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____________________________ RON MENOR, Chair |
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