REPORT TITLE: 
Professions and Occupations


DESCRIPTION:
Repeals the regulation of real estate collection servicing
agents.  Requires a sunset review of the regulation of
barbering, beauty culture, and speech pathology and audiology.
Requires that the legislative reference bureau study the
fairness of the state-constructed dental licensing examination.
(CD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII                                            C.D. 1
                                                             
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                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that government
 
 2 bureaucracy and red tape may be reduced by deregulating
 
 3 professions and vocations where appropriate.  Streamlining
 
 4 government operations by terminating unnecessary programs will
 
 5 make government more cost-effective and efficient, an important
 
 6 and desirable outcome given Hawaii's struggling economy.
 
 7 Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:
 
 8      (1)  Repeal the regulation of real estate collection
 
 9           servicing agents and make conforming amendments to
 
10           related sections of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.  The
 
11           legislature finds regulation of real estate collection
 
12           servicing agents is unnecessary; regulation does not
 
13           serve to protect the public health, safety, and welfare
 
14           and should therefore be eliminated;
 
15      (2)  Require that the legislative auditor report on whether
 
16           regulation of barbering, beauty culture, and speech
 
17           pathologists and audiologists should be continued or
 
18           repealed, and if continued, whether it would be more
 
19           efficient and cost-effective to regulate through a
 

 
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 1           regulatory board, the department of commerce and
 
 2           consumer affairs, or some other agency or mechanism;
 
 3           and 
 
 4      (3)  Require that the legislative reference bureau report on
 
 5           whether the dental licensing exam developed and used by
 
 6           the board of dental examiners appropriately tests for
 
 7           competence or is an undue exclusionary barrier to entry
 
 8           into the profession, and whether the examination should
 
 9           be replaced by any of four regional examinations.
 
10                              PART I
 
11                   REPEAL OF BUSINESS REGULATION
 
12      SECTION 2.  Section 412:3-502, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
13 amended to read as follows:
 
14      "�412:3-502  Foreign financial institution.  No foreign
 
15 financial institution shall receive deposits, lend money, or pay
 
16 checks, negotiate orders of withdrawal or share drafts from any
 
17 [[]principal[]] office, branch, agency, automatic teller machine,
 
18 or other location in this State, unless expressly authorized by
 
19 this chapter, other laws of this State, or federal law;
 
20 provided[,] that nothing in this section shall prohibit any
 
21 foreign financial institution from participating in the
 
22 disbursement of cash through an automatic teller machine network
 
23 or from operating from any location in this State as a mortgage
 

 
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 1 broker licensed under chapter 454, or as a real estate collection
 
 2 servicing agent [registered under chapter 454D]."
 
 3      SECTION 3.  Section 443B-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 4 amended by amending the definition of "collection agency" to read
 
 5 as follows:
 
 6      ""Collection agency" means any person, whether located
 
 7 within or outside this State, who by oneself or through others
 
 8 offers to undertake or holds oneself out as being able to
 
 9 undertake or does undertake to collect for another person, claims
 
10 or money due on accounts or other forms of indebtedness for a
 
11 commission, fixed fee, or a portion of the sums so collected.
 
12      "Collection agency" includes:
 
13      (1)  Any person using any name other than the person's own
 
14           in collecting the person's own claims with the
 
15           intention of conveying, or which tends to convey the
 
16           impression that a third party has been employed; 
 
17      (2)  Any person who, in the conduct of the person's business
 
18           for a fee, regularly repossesses any merchandise or
 
19           chattels for another; and
 
20      (3)  Any person who regularly accepts the assignment of
 
21           claims or money due on accounts or other forms of
 
22           indebtedness and brings suits upon the assigned claims
 
23           or money due on accounts or other forms of indebtedness
 

 
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 1           in the person's own name; provided that any suits shall
 
 2           be initiated and prosecuted by an attorney who shall
 
 3           have been appointed by the assignee[; provided further
 
 4           that any person who by oneself or through others offers
 
 5           to undertake or holds oneself out as being able to
 
 6           undertake or does undertake to collect for another
 
 7           person the amounts due under any agreement which
 
 8           provides for installment payments and which is secured
 
 9           by an interest in real property, including without
 
10           limitation, mortgage loans and agreements of sale,
 
11           whether or not the collection servicing agent receives
 
12           any compensation or other consideration for one's
 
13           services, shall fall within the purview of chapter
 
14           454D].
 
15      "Collection agency" does not include licensed attorneys at
 
16 law acting within the scope of their profession, licensed real
 
17 estate brokers, and salespersons residing in this State when
 
18 engaged in the regular practice of their profession, nor banks,
 
19 trust companies, building and loan associations, savings and loan
 
20 associations, financial services loan companies, credit unions,
 
21 companies doing an escrow business, individuals regularly
 
22 employed on a regular wage or salary in the capacity of credit
 
23 persons or in other similar capacity for a single employer who is
 

 
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 1 not a collection agency, nor any public officer or any person
 
 2 acting under an order of court."
 
 3      SECTION 4.  Chapter 454D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 4 repealed.
 
 5                              PART II
 
 6                      AUDITOR'S SUNSET REVIEW
 
 7      SECTION 5.  (a)  The legislative auditor shall conduct a
 
 8 study, or a series of studies, as appropriate, as provided in
 
 9 subsection (b), regarding the regulation of the following
 
10 professions or vocations:
 
11      (1)  Speech pathologists and audiologists (chapter 468E,
 
12           Hawaii Revised Statutes);
 
13      (2)  Practice of barbering (chapter 438, Hawaii Revised
 
14           Statutes); and
 
15      (3)  Beauty culture (chapter 439, Hawaii Revised Statutes).
 
16      (b)  With respect to the professions or vocations specified
 
17 in subsection (a), the auditor shall:
 
18      (1)  Determine whether, given the criteria in section 26H-2,
 
19           Hawaii Revised Statutes, regulation of these
 
20           professions or vocations should be continued or
 
21           repealed;
 
22      (2)  Upon concluding that regulation of any of these
 
23           professions and vocations should continue, determine
 

 
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 1           whether regulation would be more efficiently and cost
 
 2           effectively administered by:
 
 3           (A)  A regulatory board;
 
 4           (B)  The department of commerce and consumer affairs;
 
 5                or
 
 6           (C)  An alternative regulatory mechanism.
 
 7      (c)  The auditor shall submit to the legislature a report of
 
 8 the findings and recommendations concerning the regulation of
 
 9 speech pathologists and audiologists no later than twenty days
 
10 before the convening of the regular session of 2000, and the
 
11 regulation of barbering and beauty culture no later than twenty
 
12 days before the convening of the regular session of 2001.
 
13                             PART III
 
14                    STUDY RELATING TO DENTISTRY
 
15      SECTION 6.  The legislative reference bureau, with the
 
16 assistance of the board of dental examiners and the department of
 
17 commerce and consumer affairs, shall conduct a study of the
 
18 state-constructed dental licensing examinations used by the
 
19 board.  The study shall include a determination of the following
 
20 questions:
 
21      (1)  Given examination pass rates since 1992, does the state
 
22           constructed dental licensing examination, including
 
23           proposed changes to the examination, appropriately test
 

 
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 1           for professional competency in the field of dentistry
 
 2           or serve as an undue exclusionary barrier to entry to
 
 3           the profession?  In considering this question, the
 
 4           legislative reference bureau shall compare the dental
 
 5           licensing examination pass rates of the following
 
 6           groups of applicants:
 
 7           (A)  Graduates of institutions located in the United
 
 8                States and accredited by an accreditor recognized
 
 9                by the United States Secretary of Education;
 
10           (B)  Graduates of institutions located in the United
 
11                States not accredited by an accreditor recognized
 
12                by the United States Secretary of Education;
 
13           (C)  Graduates of institutions located in foreign
 
14                countries that are accredited by the governments
 
15                of those countries; and
 
16           (D)  Graduates of institutions located in foreign
 
17                countries that are not accredited by the
 
18                governments of those countries;
 
19      (2)  Should any of the four regional dental examinations be
 
20           used in lieu of, or as an alternative option to, the
 
21           state-constructed dental licensing examination and, if
 
22           so, under what conditions; and
 
23      (3)  Any other questions pertinent to an evaluation and
 

 
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 1           determination of the fairness of the state-constructed
 
 2           dental licensing examination under section 26H-2,
 
 3           Hawaii Revised Statutes, criteria.
 
 4      The legislative reference bureau shall submit the requested
 
 5 report, with its findings, recommendations, and proposed
 
 6 legislation, if necessary, to the legislature not later than
 
 7 twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of
 
 8 2000.
 
 9      SECTION 7.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
10      SECTION 8.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.