Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations and Tourism and Intergovernmental Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 815 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require that political advertisements and debates appearing on television during an election period be close captioned for the hearing impaired.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Campaign Spending Commission of the State of Hawaii, and from a concerned citizen.

Your Committees agree that the right to cast an informed vote is one of the hallmarks of a participatory democracy, and a right that should not be denied any citizen. Your Committees find that many voters receive the information necessary to make an informed decision from television advertisements and debates.

Your Committees find that close captioning of political advertisements and debates on television would broaden informed participation in the democratic process.

Your Committees amended this measure to narrow its scope somewhat, based on the tremendous cost of close captioning. As amended by your Committees, this measure will only apply to advertisements and debates involved in the state gubernatorial and congressional races, the races that have the greatest impact on the State as a whole.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations and Tourism and Intergovernmental Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 815, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 815, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.