Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 2811 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to increase the amount deposited to the Bureau of Conveyance special fund from recordation fees.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committee finds that currently, $2 of the $25 recordation fee is deposited into the fund and the rest into the general fund. This measure will increase the amount deposited into the special fund from $2 to $7, allowing the Bureau to become totally self—sufficient. In addition, it will provide a direct and permanent source of funding to staff and maintain a computerized system of all land title documents, which for the first time will be accessible via the Internet.

Your Committee has heard that the Bureau generates roughly $7,000,000 annually through the collection of the $25 recordation fee. Based on an average of 275,000 documents recorded annually, the increase of $5 for the special fund will generate $1,375,000 for the Bureau's operations.

Your Committee is supportive of this means of providing a stable funding source for a vital public service.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2811 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.