STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2214

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2019

RE: S.B. No. 812

S.D. 1

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 S.B. No. 812, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Appropriate funds for the operating expenses of certain programs within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs;

(2) Temporarily repeal the statutory requirement that $2,000,000 of certain taxes collected on banks and financial corporations be deposited into the Compliance Resolution Fund;

(3) Clarify that the annual fee for cable television operators shall not exceed 0.5% of the cable operator's gross revenues from the preceding calendar year; and

(4) Provide for the suspension or refund of fees paid into the Contractors Recovery Fund, Contractors Education Fund, Mortgage Loan Recovery Fund, Real Estate Recovery Fund, Real Estate Education Fund, and Condominium Education Trust Fund if the balance in the funds attains a certain ceiling amount.

The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Contractors License Board submitted comments on this measure.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing the provision that temporarily repealed the deposit of certain taxes collected on banks and financial corporations into the Compliance Resolution Fund;

(2) Removing the provision that provided a cap on the annual fees collected from cable television operators;

(3) Increasing the amount allowed to be paid for damages through the Mortgage Loan Recovery Fund to 10% of the residential mortgage loan, but not more than $150,000;

(4) Specifying that the suspension or refund of fees paid into the included special funds be repealed on June 30, 2022; and

(5) 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 S.B. No. 812, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 812, S.D. 1, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair