STAND. COM. REP. NO.  59-12

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2012

RE:   H.B. No. 1868

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 1868 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to grant telecommunications carriers greater flexibility by specifying that basic exchange services are the only type of retail intrastate services for which a telecommunications carrier would need to obtain the approval of the Public Utilities Commission before the carrier can charge a rate higher than the one filed in the carrier's tariff for that service.

Hawaiian Telcom supported this measure.  The Division of Consumer Advocacy opposed this measure.  The Public Utilities Commission submitted comments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by adding definitions for "basic exchange service", "dial tone", "single-line", and "touch-tone dialing".  Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made for purposes of consistency and clarity.

     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. 1868, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1868, H.D. 1, 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