STAND. COM. REP. NO.  162-10

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2010

RE:   H.B. No. 2642

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 2642 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UTILITIES REGULATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to appropriate from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Special Fund sufficient funding for staffing and completing the reorganization of the PUC and the Division of Consumer Advocacy.

     The Consumer Advocate, the Regulatory Reform Working Group of the Hawaii Energy Policy Forum, the Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries, the Blue Planet Foundation, Hawaii Transportation Association, Life of the Land, and Hawaiian Telcom testified in support of this bill. The PUC commented.

     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. 2642 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

ROBERT N. HERKES, Chair