STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.3298

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 2351

H.D. 1

S.D. 2

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing and Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 2351, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS CABLE TELEVISION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to promote independence and openness in public access television governance.

The Kauai League of Women Voters, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, and two individuals supported this measure. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Olelo Community Television, and Hoike: Kauai Community Television opposed the measure. Common Cause of Hawaii and the Office of Information Practices submitted comments on this measure.

Your Committees find that public, educational, and governmental (PEG) access is best served by ensuring nondiscriminatory, diverse participation in the PEG access process, and that the State should not intervene in the governance of access organizations, unless they are in violation of statutory or contractual provisions. Therefore, this measure prohibits the appointment of members to the boards of public television access organizations by DCCA. In addition, this measure makes access organizations subject to the sunshine and information practices laws.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Redefining "access organization" as "PEG access organization";

(2) Reorganizing proposed requirements relating to governance and compliance with sunshine and information practices laws in a new section governing PEG access organizations, that also includes requirements relating to funding and report filings with DCCA;

(3) Amending the purpose language of this measure to conform to the above changes; and

(5) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2003.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2351, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2351, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing and Ways and Means,

____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair		____________________________ RON MENOR, Chair