STAND. COM. REP. NO. 665

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 1097
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which
was referred H.B. No. 1097 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO REPEAL OF PROFESSIONAL AND
     VOCATIONAL LICENSING BOARDS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to repeal the regulatory boards
of certain professions and vocations and provide for their
continued regulation under the Department of Commerce and
Consumer Affairs.

     In particular, the boards that will be eliminated by this
bill are the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, the Board of
Dental Examiners, the Board of Speech Pathology and Audiology,
the Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Board, the Motor Vehicle
Industry Licensing Board, and the Elevator Mechanics Licensing
Board.

     Your Committee received testimony in favor of this measure
from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the
Department of Health (except for the elimination of the Board of
Dental Examiners), the state Auditor, the Hawaii Dental
Hygienists' Association, the Hawaii Institute for Wellness in
Dentistry, and five dental hygienists.


 
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     Testimony in opposition to the measure was received from the
Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, the Board of Dental
Examiners, the Board of Speech Pathology and Audiology, the Motor
Vehicle Repair Industry Board, the Motor Vehicle Industry
Licensing Board, the Elevator Mechanics Licensing Board, Local
Union No. 126 of the International Union of Elevator
Constructors, the Hawaii Master Barber Association, the Hawaii
Institute of Hair Design, the Hawaii Dental Association, several
licensed dentists and a periodontist, speech-language
pathologists and audiologists, and other concerned members of the
public.

     Your Committee agrees with the intent of this bill to
streamline government by reducing bureaucracy and red tape, which
will assist in making government more cost effective and
efficient.  Increasing government efficiency is especially
important in light of the State's stagnant economy.  However,
your Committee finds that streamlining government should not be
undertaken when the public's health, safety, and welfare will be
adversely affected, such as when streamlining will present
greater opportunities for fraud and incompetence.  Moreover,
streamlining should not create public distrust in the delivery of
services by licensed professionals, nor should it impact
adversely on affected groups under mandated government programs.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
bill by:

     (1)  Deleting all of the provisions of this bill except
          those relating to motor vehicle industry licensing and
          the regulation of motor vehicle repairs;

     (2)  Making conforming amendments to other Hawaii Revised
          Statutes sections as appropriate; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the
          purposes of clarity and consistency.

     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. 1097, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No.
1097, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.


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



                                   ______________________________
                                   RON MENOR, Chair

 
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