STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1339-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   H.C.R. No. 72

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Judiciary and Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 72 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU TO CONDUCT A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF STATES CONCERNING THE COSTS AND METHODS OF PUBLICIZING REQUIRED STATUTORY LEGAL NOTICES PAID FOR WITH PUBLIC FUNDS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request that the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB):

(1)  Compare the costs and methods of publicizing required legal notices of the states;

(2)  Examine alternative methods of publicizing required legal notices, including on television, radio, and the Internet;

(3)  Review cost-saving strategies concerning required legal notices;

(4)  Determine the most effective channels of media for publicizing required legal notices; and

(5)  Submit a report of the study to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2015.

LRB submitted testimony commenting on this measure.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Referring to advertising costs for publication rising since the merger of the two newspapers;

     (2)  Clarifying that it has been reported that technology has allowed over 100 Pennsylvania newspapers to currently post their printed public notices on the Internet at no cost to the local government;

     (3)  Deleting the requirement for LRB to review cost-saving strategies concerning required legal notices; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Consumer Protection & Commerce that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 72, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Finance, in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 72, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________ ANGUS L.K. McKELVEY, Chair

____________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair