STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1373-08

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2008

RE:   H.C.R. No. 120

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 120 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT REALTORS PROMOTE THE PRINCIPLES OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     "Universal design" is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.  This involves considering various factors, including but not limited to, aesthetics, engineering options, environmental issues, industry standards, safety concerns, and cost.  In the field of real estate, universal design includes the incorporation of such features as no step entries, one-story living, wide doorways, wide hallways, and extra floor space

     The purpose of this measure is to request that the Hawaii Association of Realtors

(1)  Promote the marketing of properties which incorporate the principles of universal design into their design;

(2)  Develop standards for determining whether a property incorporates universal design principles into its design;

(3)  Designate a symbol, to be included within their listing of a property, which would indicate whether a property satisfied their standards for determining whether a property has incorporated universal design principles into its design; and

(4)  Report to the Legislature regarding the establishment of these standards and the designation of a symbol not later than twenty days prior to the convening of Regular Session of 2009.

     Comments on the measure were submitted by the Hawaii Association of Realtors and the Disability and Communication Access Board.

     Your committee finds that the principles of universal design should be promoted within the field of real estate marketing.

     Your committee has amended this measure by:

(1)  Deleting all references to the Hawaii Association of Realtors and substituting the National Association of Home Builders, in its place;

(2)  Providing that, for the purpose of developing standards for determining whether a property incorporates universal design principles into its design, the Disability and Communication Access Board will be available to provide technical assistance to the National Association of Home Builders; and

(3)  Making nonsubstantive amendments throughout the measure for the purposes of clarity 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 concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 120, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 120, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________

ROBERT N. HERKES, Chair