Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 1201, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this measure is to restore regulatory licensing of motor vehicle manufacturers and motor vehicle distributors by articulating in the statutes, prohibited practices related to franchising, and granting both distributors and dealers the right to recover certain specified damages for violation of those prohibitions.

With the passage of this measure, Hawaii will be in the majority of states that maintain motor vehicle franchise protection laws for locally-owned businesses, thereby protecting the investments of franchised dealers, while concomitantly protecting customers from inflated new motor vehicle costs.

The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and affected parties have worked together throughout this session to reach an agreement regarding regulation that is supported by all parties.

It is your Committee’s intent that the licensing provisions that are contained in this measure create licensing requirements only for manufacturers and distributors as those entities may be described in Chapter 437, Hawaii Revised Statutes (Chapter 437). It is not this Committee's intent to require individual offices or establishments maintained by a distributor licensed under Chapter 437 to be separately licensed, nor is it this Committee's intent to require individual distributor representatives that are employed by or under contract with a distributor licensed under Chapter 437 to be separately licensed.

It is also this Committee's intent that the private remedies set forth in Section 1 of the measure become effective upon its approval, while all licensing requirements that may be contained in or created by this measure are delayed in effect until January 1, 2004. Failure to be licensed prior to January 1, 2004, is not a violation of the law.

Your Conference Committee, upon further consideration, has made the following amendments to S.B. 1201, S.D. 2, H.D. 1:

(1) Inserted a provision for private right of action

1. Inserted provisions for the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to set fees for licensing and enforcement;
2. Changed the effective date of this Act to take effect upon its approval, provided that sections 6 and 7 take effect on January 1, 2004; and
3. Made technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purpose of clarification.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1201, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1201, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.