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. 406 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to provide Hawaii with greater access to the benefits of public, educational, and governmental (PEG) access organization programming by authorizing the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to plan and develop a statewide system for the production and distribution of governmental and public affairs programming.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the League of Women Voters of Hawaii. Testimony supporting the intent of this bill was received from a professor of journalism. The Cable Television Division Administrator of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Olelo Community Television commented.

Your Committee finds that civic and public affairs television programming is a valuable resource that can encourage public interest and participation in the democratic process. Your Committee further finds that development of a system for statewide distribution of programming of this nature raises issues of funding, channel capacity, and duplication of services provided by existing PEG access organizations.

In the interest of facilitating further discussion among the interested parties and to address the aforementioned issues, your Committee has amended this bill by providing an effective date of July 1, 2099. Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were made for 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. 406, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 406, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.