STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2081

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2361

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 2361 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WASTE STREAM REDUCTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to require telephone directories to be distributed only to persons who have signed a written authorization to receive the directory.

     Testimony in support was submitted by one organization and one individual.  Three organizations submitted testimony in opposition.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that Oahu's solid waste has increased at ten times the rate of population growth, thus, strict measures to reduce Hawaii's waste stream are essential.  However, your Committee recognizes the efforts of telephone directory distributors to reduce waste through the implementation of opt-out programs and recycling.  Approximately fourteen thousand local businesses advertise in the Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages, and studies have found that eighty-five per cent of adults reference telephone directories at least once per year.  Your Committee believes this measure provides users ample opportunity to continue receiving telephone directories, while minimizing the number of unwanted telephone directories.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by exempting telephone directory distributors that implement opt-out or opt-in programs.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2361, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2361, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Judiciary and Government Operations.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy and Environment,

____________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair