STAND. COM. REP. NO.  675-10

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2010

RE:   S.B. No. 2015

      S.D. 1

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 S.B. No. 2015, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INTRASTATE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to promote competition in the telecommunications marketplace by requiring the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to treat retail intrastate telecommunications services as "fully competitive," to deregulate these phone services and bolster competition with other forms of telecommunications.

     PUC, Hawaiian Telcom, and tw telecom – Hawaii testified in support of this bill.

     Act 180, Session Laws of Hawaii 2009, updated Hawaii's regulatory framework for telecommunications to create market parity among all phone service providers.  This bill expands that effort by deregulating other retail telecommunication services to facilitate competition with service providers that are either unregulated or not subject to the same level of regulatory oversight.

     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 S.B. No. 2015, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

____________________________

ROBERT N. HERKES, Chair