STAND. COM. REP. NO. 281
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2005
RE: H.B. No. 163
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2005
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 163 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONDOMINIUMS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
This purpose of this bill is assist in the resolution of condominium disputes by:
(1) Amending provisions of Hawaii's current condominium property regimes law that allow a party to an unsuccessfully mediated condominium dispute to request an administrative hearing for specific types of these mediated disputes, by expanding the set of disputes that may be heard, to any mediated condominium dispute; and
(2) Amending the recodified condominium law in Act 164, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004 (Act 164), which is set to become effective on July 1, 2005, by adding provisions similar to those in Hawaii's current condominium law, allowing a party to an unsuccessfully mediated condominium dispute to request an administrative hearing of the dispute.
The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs supported this bill. Community Associations Institute, Hawaii Chapter, supported the intent of the bill.
Your Committee finds that in an effort to provide an expeditious, less costly, uniform, and uncomplicated procedure to handle condominium disputes, Act 164 amended section 514A-121.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to establish a temporary condominium dispute resolution (CDR) hearings process. This process allows unsuccessfully mediated disputes to be submitted to administrative hearing, and was limited to certain simple, statutory issues. The amendments establishing the process are set to sunset on June 30, 2006.
DCCA was required to conduct a two-year CDR pilot program to implement the process, but the drafters of Act 164, concerned that DCCA would become overburdened with "condo court" cases, restricted DCCA to no more than 30 cases per fiscal year.
Your Committee finds that no disputes have been filed since the CDR pilot program's inception. This measure would expand the types of disputes eligible for resolution under the CDR process, to include any and all mediated disputes, and will hopefully result in an influx of cases being filed with the CDR pilot program. Your Committee notes that the 30 case limitation has not been changed.
Your Committee has amended this bill by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 163, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 163, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,
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____________________________ KENNETH HIRAKI, Chair |
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