Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs, and Government Operations, to which was referred H.B. No. 285, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purposes of this measure are to require administrative rules to conform to enabling statutes, to provide for the automatic repeal of outdated administrative rules, and to modify the scope of the Small Business Regulatory Review Board's annual evaluation report.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, the Department of Human Resources Development, The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, and the Land Use Research Foundation.

Your Committee finds that, through the enactment of statutes, the Legislature often gives state agencies the authority to adopt rules that have the force and effect of law. Since the Legislature is delegating its duty to make law, your Committee finds that it is tantamount that the rules conform to the legislative intent in enacting the enabling statute.

In addition, when the enabling statute is amended or repealed, the rules adopted pursuant thereto require amendment or repeal as well. Due to the expense of repealing rules under the Administrative Procedure Act, however, many agencies allow outdated rules to remain on the books.

Your Committee supports this measure as a means to address these and related problems associated with the administrative rule process.

Your Committee amended this measure to allow any person, and not only affected small businesses, to petition an agency regarding the adoption of an administrative rule.

Your Committee also made several technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of style and accuracy.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs, and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 285, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 285, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.