STAND. COM. REP. 611

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: H.B. No. 96

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 96 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the use of telephone directory advertising revenues of an organization, trade, or business, owned or controlled by the same entity that owns or controls a telecommunications carrier, to establish regulated rates or charges for that telecommunications carrier.

Testimony in support of this bill was submitted by Verizon Hawaii. The Division of Consumer Advocacy of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) opposed this bill.

Your Committee recognizes that currently, non-rate regulated competitive telephone directory advertising revenues may be used to establish rates or charges for rate regulated services. This process may work against creating a strong, competitive marketplace for Hawaii's non-rate regulated services.

This bill aims to ensure a fair and competitive marketplace, by clearly differentiating between non-rate regulated services and rate regulated services. With this distinction in place, non-rate regulated services will be able to operate in the competitive telephone directory marketplace without portions of their revenue being used to subsidize affiliated rate regulated services. Also, because this bill requires rate regulated services to operate without such subsidies, each service will need to develop an infrastructure that is economically feasible, cost efficient, and reliable. This would ultimately result in reliable and cost efficient services to the residents and businesses of Hawaii.

Your Committee is aware of concerns voiced by DCCA and the PUC. Both parties believe PUC should continue to have the discretion to recognize any directory advertising revenues in determining a regulated telecommunications provider's revenue, and to determine the impact these revenues should have on regulated service rates. Therefore, to facilitate further discussion on this matter, your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2050.

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. 96, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 96, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

 

____________________________

KENNETH T. HIRAKI, Chair