HCR138.DOC

WHEREAS, an effective money and banking system is essential to the functioning of the economy; and

WHEREAS, banking systems must function in the public interest, without bias; and

WHEREAS, for sixty-six years, the Federal Banking Act of 1933, known as the Glass-Steagall Act, protected the public interest in matters dealing with the regulation of commercial and investment banking, in addition to insurance companies and securities; and

WHEREAS, sections of the Glass-Steagall Act were repealed in 1999, which may have partially contributed to the speculative financial bubble and the recent worldwide recession; and

WHEREAS, the worldwide recession has left millions of homes in foreclosure and has resulted in millions of lost jobs nationwide; and

WHEREAS, the worldwide recession has put severe financial strain on states, counties, and cities, exacerbating unemployment and loss of public services; and

WHEREAS, recent efforts have been made by both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives to restore certain protections of the Glass-Steagall Act; and
WHEREAS, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur has introduced H.R. 129, known as the Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2013, aimed at reviving some of the separations between commercial banking and investment banking similar to those of the Glass-Steagall Act; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono, then a member of the House of Representatives, was a co-sponsor of the Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2011; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the Senate concurring, that the United States Congress is requested to pass legislation that would reinstate regulations requiring the separation of commercial and investment banking functions that were in effect under the Glass-Steagall Act, including prohibitions aimed at preventing commercial banks and bank holding companies from investing in stocks, underwriting securities, or investing in or acting as guarantors to derivative transactions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, and the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Return to Prudent Banking Act; Glass-Steagall Act of 1933

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	138
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII