Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2009 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to clarify that the owner approval requirement to change the use of or to lease a condominium's common elements does not apply to the installation of telecommunications equipment.

T-Mobile USA, Inc. and the Community Associations Institute - Hawaii Chapter testified in support of this measure.

Generally, the condominium property regimes law requires that the owners of seventy-five per cent of a condominium's common interests must approve a condominium board's decision to (1) change the use of a condominium's common elements; or (2) lease common elements not actually used by any owner for an originally intended special purpose, if the lease has a term of over five years.

Act 137, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002 (Act 137), established an exception to this requirement and authorized a condominium association's board to unilaterally approve the installation of television signal distribution and telecommunications equipment upon a condominium's common elements.

Your Committee finds that despite the enactment of Act 137, some condominium association boards are being advised that owner approval is still required if a telecommunications installation agreement has or potentially could have a term greater than five years. This measure clarifies that licenses, leases, and other agreements authorized by Act 137 are not subject to the owner approval requirement.

Your Committee made technical, nonsubstantive changes to this measure for purposes of style and clarification.

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. 2009, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2009, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.