RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution requires states to obtain the consent of Congress before entering into an agreement or compact with another state; and

WHEREAS, compacts have been formed in areas where a state, by itself, lacks the resources or jurisdiction to solve its problems alone, and can best achieve its goals by pooling its resources and authority with other states; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii has formed interstate compacts in furtherance of the public health, welfare, and safety, in areas that include adoption assistance, child placement, drivers' licensing, firearms, mental health, education, meat inspection, milk control, nonresident motorists, vehicle equipment safety, parole and probation, corrections, and radioactive waste management; and

WHEREAS, the ongoing problems plaguing Hawaii residents in obtaining and securing affordable property and casualty insurance coverage are a matter of concern affecting the public health, safety, and welfare; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii, in attempting to solve this problem, is constrained by budget limitations, policies against establishing social insurance, perceived statutory barriers to entry, and an oligarchic insurance market; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's efforts at alleviating the lack of affordable property and casualty insurance could be augmented through cooperative interstate efforts with other states experiencing the same difficulties, efforts which might include a compact with Washington and Oregon concerning lava perils, or with coastal states concerning hurricane perils; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that the Insurance Commissioner is respectfully requested to investigate the advisability of entering into interstate compacts with other states concerning perils affecting the cost of property and casualty insurance; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Insurance Commissioner is requested to submit any findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Insurance Commissioner.

Report Title:

Interstate Compacts Concerning Affordable Property and Casualty Insurance.