Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 1306 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with greater flexibility to establish and administer requirements for the provision of telecommunications relay services to the hearing and speech impaired.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the PUC, Consumer Advocate, Aloha State Association of the Deaf, Assistive Technology Resource Centers of Hawaii, and three individuals. Another individual provided favorable oral testimony.

Telecommunications relay services (TRS) are telephone transmission services that allow a hearing or speech impaired individual to communicate by wire or radio with a hearing individual. Currently, these services are provided by Verizon Hawaii, Inc. (Verizon) and funded through a PUC-approved surcharge assessed against Verizon customers, charges paid to Verizon by intrastate telecommunications providers under interconnection agreements, and teletypewriter rental fees assessed against users.

This measure authorizes the PUC to establish a surcharge for TRS and to adopt rules to establish a mechanism to recover costs for the provision of TRS, updates TRS terminology to conform to federal law, and repeals inconsistent statutory provisions. Your Committee finds that the proposed changes to the TRS laws will enable the PUC to better address the issues raised by the provision of TRS to the hearing and speech impaired, including the equitable allocation of costs and the accommodation of advances in TRS technology.

Your Committee further finds that this measure raises related TRS issues that are not addressed herein, but that merit further review and discussion. Your Committee heard a proposal to establish a volunteer advisory committee to monitor TRS with respect to quality, cost, and conformance to technical and outreach requirements. Additionally, your Committee was informed that the provider's records on TRS use are protected from disclosure to the public as confidential commercial and financial information, even though many members of the public are compelled to pay for TRS through an involuntary surcharge, and despite the fact that such information is highly relevant to an assessment of TRS delivery in the State. Therefore, your Committee respectfully requests the House of Representatives to consider these issues as they conduct their deliberations on this measure.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1306 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.