STAND. COM. REP. NO. 522-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2630

H.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 2630, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE RENTAL INDUSTRY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to remove the prohibition against commissions or other compensation based on the sale of the fuel-purchase option to a rental car consumer.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Catrala-Hawaii and Cendant Car Rental Group. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) commented.

Your Committee finds that when a rental car consumer selects the fuel-purchase option, the consumer purchases a full tank of gas when taking delivery of the rental vehicle and is not required to refuel the vehicle before returning it. Any amount left in the tank when the vehicle is returned is essentially gifted to the rental company.

DCCA testified that there have been no complaints regarding the sale of the fuel-purchase option, but noted that commissions will give employees an incentive to market the fuel-purchase option, which may result in consumer complaints.

Your Committee appreciates the cautionary sentiment expressed by DCCA and agrees that the potential for undue marketing warrants a vigilant posture by the Office of Consumer Protection. Your Committee notes that the car rental industry has consolidated over the past decade. The surviving car rental businesses are generally those that were better managed and, with reduced numbers, they are now easier to monitor.

Your Committee has made technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2630, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2630, H.D. 2.

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

 

____________________________

KENNETH T. HIRAKI, Chair