STAND. COM. REP. NO.1290
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2003
RE: S.R. No. 79
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2003
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing and Science, Arts, and Technology, to which was referred S.R. No. 79 entitled:
"SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE FORMATION OF A STATEWIDE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR PUBLIC, EDUCATION, AND GOVERNMENT ACCESS TELEVISION,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to request the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to formulate a statewide cable access infrastructure plan to provide for statewide cable access infrastructure needs.
The League of Women Voters of Hawaii and an individual testified in support of this measure. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) submitted comments on the measure.
This measure would facilitate the more equitable distribution of resources among the cable access organizations in the State and greater equity among the resident populations served by these organizations in the transmission and reception of public, educational, or governmental (PEG) programming.
Your Committees find that DCCA is in the process of developing a written plan that would provide notice to all interested parties of the Department's plans and policies affecting cable access. This process involves engaging in discussions with the PEG access organizations and holding public informational meetings to receive public input on issues including the desirability of expanding cable access, type of access desired, alternatives for funding access, and local control over access-related decisions. Therefore, your Committees have amended this measure by:
(1) Stating as a concern rather than as a conclusion that there should be a reallocation of PEG resources on a statewide basis to achieve equity among access organizations;
(2) Summarizing DCCA's efforts to develop a written plan regarding its plans and policies that affect cable access, including engaging in discussions with the access organizations and holding public informational meetings in each county;
(3) Requiring DCCA to submit a report on its written plan before the convening of the 2004 Regular Session, in lieu of interim and final reports on a statewide cable access infrastructure plan; and
(4) Amending the title and making other conforming amendments.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing and Science, Arts, and Technology that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 79, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 79, S.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing and Science, Arts, and Technology,
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____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair |
____________________________ RON MENOR, Chair |