Amends Regulatory Licensing Reform Act to prohibit redundant or unnecessary professional or vocational regulatory programs. Requires DCCA to sunset a program that the Auditor finds redundant or unnecessary and where there is no contrary action by the Legislature. Effective July 1, 2050. (HB221 HD1)

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The Hawaii Regulatory Licensing Reform Act, Act 70, Session Laws of Hawaii 1977 (Act 70), was enacted in response to a growing concern over the rapid proliferation of professional and vocational licensing boards and commissions, and the perception that these served the interests of the regulated industry, rather than the interests of the consumer. Act 70 set forth criteria to be used to evaluate and determine whether existing regulatory programs should be modified or discontinued. The criteria were codified in section 26H-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS).

Under Act 70, each chapter regulating a profession or vocation was scheduled for repeal. The statutorily-created board or commission of the regulated profession or vocation was required to assess whether its statutory program complied with the section 26H-2 criteria, and to submit a report to the legislature one year prior to the applicable repeal date. New legislation was required to continue regulatory programs reviewed under Act 70.

In 1979, the review component of this automatic review and repeal law was amended to require that assessments be performed by the legislative auditor. This amendment was made to "better provide for consumer interests. . . [and] a more objective viewpoint in assessing the value of the particular regulation under review." Recognizing that automatic review of every existing professional or vocational regulatory program consumed a disproportionate amount of the auditor's limited resources, in 1994 the legislature restricted automatic review and repeal to professional or vocational regulatory programs enacted after July 1, 1994. The legislature further limited this procedure in 1996 to regulatory programs actually listed in section 26H-4, HRS.

The legislature finds that existing policies and procedures amplify the influence of special interests and should be re-examined to more fairly represent the interest of the general public. In addition, the legislature finds that the question of whether the activities of a professional or vocational regulatory program further the policies that have been identified by the legislature as justifying regulation is a question best resolved through an assessment performed by an objective and informed agency like the auditor. Once the question is resolved, state maintenance of the program is not justified, and should be discontinued without delay.

The purpose of this Act is to provide a mechanism for the expeditious removal of unnecessary professional and vocational regulatory programs that serve the interests of regulated industry rather than the interests of the consumer.

"§26H- Evaluation of unlisted programs; immediate termination. Regardless of whether a professional or vocational regulatory program is listed in section 26H-4, upon request by the legislature by concurrent resolution, the auditor shall evaluate the program according to the policies listed in section 26H-2. If the auditor issues a report finding that the program should be eliminated based at least on one of the factors listed in section 26H-2(8), the department of commerce and consumer affairs shall immediately terminate the program, and all operations of the program shall cease in the absence of an enacted bill expressly prohibiting termination of the program and absent any contrary action taken by the legislature."

SECTION 3. Section 26H-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§26H-2 Policy. The legislature hereby adopts the following policies regarding the regulation of certain professions and vocations:

SECTION 4. Sections 26H-5 and 26H-8 are amended by substituting the word "auditor" wherever the words "legislative auditor" appear, as the context requires.

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect July 1, 2050.