WHEREAS, state law currently requires cable television operators to designate three or more channels for public, educational, or governmental use; and

WHEREAS, the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs has designated four nonprofit access organizations, one for each county, to oversee the development, operation, supervision, management, production, or broadcasting of programs for these channels, funded by a small portion of cable subscriber fees; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that there is significant value provided by cable access organizations to the public, as they broadcast local programs, neighborhood board meetings, legislative hearings and sessions, county council meetings, educational programs, and local conferences on a wide variety of topics; and

WHEREAS, the need for this programming and the value received by it are similar throughout the State; and

WHEREAS, the cost of the access organizations' infrastructure is significant, but the resources provided to the access organizations vary greatly throughout the State, as they are based on a percentage of the cable user fees from each county; and

WHEREAS, the ability of an access organization to broadcast information to its residents should not depend upon the number of residents on that island, but should be shared by all state residents in order that all residents may receive equal benefits no matter where they reside; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is requested to establish a statewide cable access infrastructure plan to provide for statewide cable access infrastructure needs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the plan may include establishment of a statewide fund from cable franchise fees to be used to benefit the access organizations according to their respective needs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director is requested to submit an interim report by September 1, 2003 and a final report on the plan to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2004; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Report Title:

PEG Access, Statewide Implementation Plan, Develop