STAND. COM. REP. NO.  814

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 1337

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Consumer Protection & Commerce and Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1337 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEATH CARE INDUSTRY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to provide additional protections for consumers of cemetery or funeral services.  This bill establishes procedures for the cancellation, termination, and refund of pre-need funeral and pre-need interment services contracts by:

     (1)  Allowing a purchaser to cancel these services by written      notification;

     (2)  Requiring a cemetery or pre-need funeral authority to              provide a written notice prior to terminating a contract      due to default;

     (3)  Allowing a purchaser to reinstate a contract that is in        default; and

     (4)  Entitling a purchaser to a refund upon cancellation or         termination of the contract.

     This bill, among other things, also:

     (1)  Requires the disclosure of specific information to a               purchaser in a contract written in clear and plain             language;

     (2)  Increases the fine from $1,000 to $5,000 for violations       by cemetery or pre-need funeral authorities; and

     (3)  Requires the maintenance of accurate records of the            identity of each person whose remains are located in a         cemetery, as well as the location of each plot, crypt,        or niche.

     The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Mililani Group, Inc., and a concerned individual testified in support of this bill.  Funeral Consumers Alliance Hawaii supported the bill with amendments.  The Hawaii Funeral Directors Association and Hawaiian Memorial Life Plan, Ltd., supported the intent of this measure.

     Your Committees have amended this bill by:

     (1)  Changing the effective date to January 1, 2020, to             encourage continued discussion; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for                    consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Consumer Protection & Commerce and Judiciary that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1337, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1337, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Consumer Protection & Commerce and Judiciary,

____________________________ TOMMY WATERS, Chair

____________________________ ROBERT N. HERKES, Chair