STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3388

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 3151

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 3151, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTRONIC PERMITTING FEES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to authorize specified environmental protection programs of the Department of Health to conduct business electronically and to deduct service provider fees or charges from the electronic or credit card payments made by applicants for departmental program approvals.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health.

     Your Committee finds that the Department of Health is currently developing an electronic permitting and fee payment procedure in order to increase efficiency in permit processing.  In order for this process to be successful, the Department requires legislative approval to deduct processing and credit card fees from the permit fees paid electronically by the applicants.  Without such approval, the Department will have no choice but to add a surcharge to the permit application fees that are paid electronically, and to pay the processing and credit card fees to the service providers from other program funds.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 3151, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair