STAND. COM. REP. NO. 218-20

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2020

RE: H.B. No. 2595

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Intrastate Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 2595 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CABLE TELEVISION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Remove requirements that the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs consider topography and geography of a proposed service area and expansion opportunities when determining an applicant's service area; and

(2) Require a cable operator to make cable service available in areas that have a minimum density of at least twenty-five homes per linear mile, unless another cable operator or any other multichannel video programming distributor already provides cable services in those areas.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Charter Communications, Inc. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Your Committee finds access to television is of critical importance in the modern world, and that lack of access places a unique burden and hardship on some Hawaii residents. This measure seeks to address that issue by increasing access to cable services.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Retaining the statutory requirement for the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to consider the topography and geography of a cable service area;

(2) Changing the exemption from the service deployment threshold from any portion of a service area where service is available from another cable operator to an unspecified number of cable operators;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Intrastate Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2595, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2595, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Intrastate Commerce,

____________________________

TAKASHI OHNO, Chair