STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1226

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2019

RE: H.B. No. 821

H.D. 2

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 821, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) to enter into a public-private partnership to plan, build, and manage key strategic broadband infrastructure that benefits the State, including a cable landing station in Kakaako, on the island of Oahu, and to encourage cloud-based companies to take advantage of this infrastructure;

(2) Exempt the public-private partnerships from the State Procurement Code;

(3) Temporarily exempt the cable landing station from state and county permitting and land use requirements; and

(4) Appropriate funds to support the Hawaii broadband initiative.

DBEDT, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Department of Health, Hawaii Technology Development Corporation, University of Hawai‘i System, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., Maui Electric Company, Ltd., Hawai‘i Electric Light Company, Inc., RAM Telecom International, Ocean Networks, Oahu Economic Development Board, and two individuals submitted testimony in support of this measure. The State Procurement Office opposed this measure. The American Council of Engineering Companies of Hawaii provided comments.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing the exemption from the Hawaii Public Procurement Code;

(2) Changing the appropriation amount to an unspecified amount; and

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

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 H.B. No. 821, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 821, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair