STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 1377
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2023
RE: S.B. No. 855
S.D. 1
H.D. 1
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2023
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred S.B. No. 855, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONDOMINIUM RESERVE REQUIREMENTS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to:
(1) Authorize a condominium association to provide a summary of the required information in its budget;
(2) Authorize a condominium association's reserve study to forecast a loan or special assessment to fund life safety equipment or installations for buildings located in a county with a population greater than five hundred thousand;
(3) Authorize a condominium association to use an independent reserve study preparer to conduct a reserve study on behalf of the condominium; and
(4) Clarify the information to be included in the explanation of how the estimated replacement reserves contributions for an association are computed.
Your Committee finds that automatic fire sprinkler systems provide valuable protection to persons and their homes, especially in condominium buildings. Your Committee further finds it is cost prohibitive to retrofit a condominium building for the installation of an automatic fire sprinkler system. As an alternative, condominium associations may install fire prevention and fire safety systems to reduce the risk of injury and death to residents and fire fighters. To take into account an association's efforts to install such systems, those costs should be included in the association's budget. This measure promotes transparency in an association's budget when accounting for necessary installation of fire prevention and fire safety systems and will clarify and expand reserve requirements to ensure that condominium projects will continue to remain structurally sound.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Changing all references from "replacement reserves contributions" to "replacement reserves assessments"; and
(2) 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 Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 855, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 855, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,
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____________________________ MARK M. NAKASHIMA, Chair |
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