STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1524

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2011

RE:   S.B. No. 1161

      S.D. 1

      H.D. 3

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 1161, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to expedite the deployment of high-speed broadband technology in Hawaii by exempting:

     (1)  Certain broadband infrastructure improvements from state and county permitting requirements; provided that the improvements are within existing public rights-of-way, public utility easements, or use existing telecommunications infrastructure, and do not make significant changes to those existing sites; and

     (2)  A person or entity from any requirement to upgrade or replace existing utility poles when using that pole to install new or improved existing telecommunications cables, under certain conditions.

     Hawaiian Telcom supported this bill.  The City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting opposed this bill.  The Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Office of Environmental Quality Control; Hawaiian Electric Company; Hawaii Electric Light Company; and Maui Electric Company offered comments.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Adding safety and engineering requirements when installing new or improved existing telecommunications cables; and

     (2)  Adding a provision that public utilities and broadband providers shall be allowed to recover prudently incurred costs related to the planning, engineering, construction, installation, or replacement of utility poles to accomplish the deployment of high-speed broadband technology.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1161, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1161, S.D. 1, H.D. 3.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

____________________________

MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair