HB2652.DOC

SECTION 1. The State has long supported providing public, educational, and governmental cable channel access to the residents of this State. The State, in its role as grantor of cable television franchises, requires each cable company to provide public, educational, and governmental access channels. Under current law, an access organization may apply to be designated to oversee the development, operation, supervision, management, production, and broadcasting of programs of public, educational, or governmental access facilities. Unlike the majority of other jurisdictions, however, Hawaii currently allows the same access organization to be designated for all three types of programming: public, educational, and governmental.

In an evaluation of public, educational, and governmental access facilities conducted by the department of commerce and consumer affairs, it was reported that the allocation of resources to Hawaii’s accredited educational institutions is who are generally viewed as the primary constituency of the public, educational, and governmental access movement. Whether intended or not, this hierarchy of public, educational, and governmental access components has resulted in a lack of responsiveness, accountability, and efficiency among each of the competing public, educational, and governmental access components.

The legislature finds that the principles of public, educational, and governmental access call for three robust and equal components, none of which is superior to another: public programming, educational programming, and governmental programming. The legislature also finds that it is important to ensure the equal availability of public access, educational access, and governmental access cable channels across all islands and to ensure consistency of available financial resources from access organizations to each of the three public, educational, and governmental access components.

The legislature further finds that having separate access organizations for each component will allow each access organization independently to develop a focused mission, develop specialization and expertise in specific programming, and be responsive, efficient, and accountable to its own specific audience. The separation of public, educational, and governmental components will also ensure that funding is provided equally to each of the access components through their respective access organizations and that each access organization will have independent control over its own resources.

The purpose of this Act is to require the director of commerce and consumer affairs to designate separate access organizations for each of the three components of public, educational, and governmental access: public access, educational access, and governmental access.

SECTION 2. Section 440G-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By adding a three new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read:

""Educational access facilities" means channel capacity designated for use by educational institutions and the facilities and equipment for the use of that channel capacity.

"Governmental access facilities" means channel capacity designated for use by the government and the facilities and equipment for the use of that channel capacity.

"Public access facilities" means channel capacity designated for use by the general public and the facilities and equipment for the use of that channel capacity."

2. By deleting the definition of "public, educational, or governmental access facilities".

[""Public, educational, or governmental access facilities" means (1) channel capacity designated for public, educational, or governmental uses and (2) facilities and equipment for the use of that channel capacity."]

SECTION 3. Section 440G-8.3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§440G-8.3[]] Designation of access organizations for public, educational, or governmental access channels. (a) The director [~~may~~] shall designate [an] a separate access organization to oversee the development, operation, supervision, management, production, and broadcasting of programs [~~of public, educational, or governmental access facilities obtained under section 440G-8;~~] for each of the following: public access facilities, educational access facilities, and governmental access facilities; provided that the [~~designation~~] designations shall be exempt from chapter 103D.

(b) No access organization shall be designated except upon written application or proposal to the director, and following a public hearing on each island within the local franchise area that provides opportunity for public input and allows interested parties to intervene.

(1) The content of the application or proposal;

(2) The public need for the proposed service;

(3) The ability and experience of the applicant to offer public, educational, or government programming broadcast services;

(4) The suitability of the applicant;

(5) The financial responsibility of the applicant;

(6) The technical and operational ability of the applicant to perform efficiently the services for which the designation is requested;

(7) Any objections arising from the public hearing, the cable advisory committee, or elsewhere; and

(8) Any other matters that the director deems appropriate under the circumstances.

(d) The director may require an applicant to provide information on its process for selecting members of its board of directors; provided that the director shall have no authority to require that an applicant amend its selection process as a condition of designation.

(e) An applicant shall provide information regarding its past performance and any proposed practices for ensuring that the public, educational, or governmental access facilities, as applicable, support the diversity of viewpoints and uphold the public's right of free speech.

(f) The director shall ensure that the terms and conditions required of the operation of [an] each access organization designated under subsection (a) are fair to the public, taking into account the geographic, topographic, and economic characteristics of the service area and the economics of providing cable access in the service area.

(g) Any decision designating, modifying, or rescinding a designation of an access organization or the requirements [~~therefore~~] therefor shall first be submitted to the cable advisory committee for advice under section 440G-13.

(h) The department shall conduct an annual management and financial audit of [~~the~~] each access organization designated under this section.

(i) The director shall ensure that any payments required from any cable operator for public, educational, or governmental access facilities shall be distributed equally to support public access facilities, educational access facilities, and governmental access facilities."

SECTION 4. Act 19, Session Laws of Hawaii 2011, is amended by amending section 4 to read as follows:

"SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2011[; provided that this Act shall be repealed on June 30, 2014, and section 440G-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which it read on the day prior to the effective date of this Act]."

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2652
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII