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. 2902, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to make a violation of the federal Do-Not-Call provisions an unfair or deceptive trade practice under Hawaii law.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) and Verizon. Comments were received from Legislative Information Services of Hawaii and the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association's franchised new vehicle auto dealers.

According to testimony of the DCCA, this measure harmonizes Hawaii's telemarketing laws with the recently enacted Do-Not-Call provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act passed by Congress. This measure enhances the ability of the State to enforce violations of the Do-Not-Call provisions in state courts by making violations of the Do-Not-Call provisions a violation of state law.

Your Committee finds that this measure will clarify and strengthen Hawaii's telemarketing law. Testimony indicated that similar efforts to harmonize state law with federal law have been proposed in several other states, with the support and encouragement of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.

Your Committee has amended this measure to make a clarifying amendment in reference to the federal law citation, and to make a technical, nonsubstantive amendment.

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. 2902, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2902, S.D. 2.