Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 1729 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to allow implementation of section 514A-13.4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which was enacted in 2002 to facilitate the lease of common elements of a condominium for installation of television signal distribution and telecommunications equipment.

Testimony, in support of this bill was provided by T-Mobile USA, Inc., Nextel Partners, Inc., and a member of the Hawaii Legislative Action Committee of the Community Associations Institute. Testimony in opposition to the bill was submitted by another member of the Hawaii Legislative Action Committee of the Community Associations Institute.

Your Committee finds that the opponent of this bill raises the basic condominium governance issue that was decided in 2002, when Act 137 added section 514A-13.4 to the Condominium Property Regimes law. Proponents of this bill testify that Act 137 is apparently not clear enough to dissuade some individuals from asserting that the Act does not apply to leases whose duration is five years or more and that the lease must contain a provision allowing termination on 60-day notice.

Your Committee finds that Act 137 allows the board of directors of an association to install telecommunications equipment on association common elements. Act 137 is not limited to leases of five years or less, and the 60-day termination provision is also not required under the Act. In fact, imposing these limitations would eviscerate Act 137.

Normally, a statute is not amended simply because some individuals have misinterpreted it. However, the public benefit of a rapid deployment of telecommunications equipment, at optimal locations, warrants an exception in this case.

Proponents of this bill suggested amendments, which they feel add clarity. Those amendments were adopted. Other technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1729, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1729, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.