STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1070

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2017

RE:   H.B. No. 625

      H.D. 3

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 625, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INFRASTRUCTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish the siting process of infrastructure for small wireless and wireline facilities and small wireless and wireline facilities networks on state- and county-owned land.

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Office of Planning, Office of Environmental Quality Control, Cellular Telephone Industry Association, Verizon, and Mobilitie testified in support of this measure.  The Department of Transportation, City and County of Honolulu, The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries Maui Electric Company and Hawaii Electric Light Company, and Hawaiian Telcom testified in support of the intent of this measure.  The Office of the Mayor of the County of Hawaii and Department of Public Works of the County of Hawaii testified in opposition to this measure.  The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Office of Enterprise Technology Services, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Charter Communications, Inc., and a concerned individual provided comments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting language establishing the siting process of infrastructure for small wireline facilities and small wireline facilities networks on state- and county-owned land;

     (2)  Establishing a collocation permit application, review, and approval process for telecommunication companies proposing to install broadband infrastructure;

     (3)  Allowing, rather than requiring, the State and counties to issue permits for the collocation of small wireless facilities or small wireless facilities networks on State or county structures, buildings, utility poles, and light standards;

     (4)  Removing language specifically exempting structures, poles, and light standards owned by Hawaiian Electric Company from collocation requirements and instead establishing general provisions relating to access rights to poles or structures and compliance with laws and rules relating to jointly-owned poles for solely investor-owned electric or telephone utilities;

     (5)  Specifying that small wireless facilities minimize visual blight to the greatest extent possible; and

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

     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. 625, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 625, H.D. 3.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________

ANGUS L.K. McKELVEY, Chair