STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2139

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2200
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which
was referred S.B. No. 2200 entitled: 

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to increase the amount of
resources available to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) by
limiting the amount of moneys in the PUC special fund that lapse
into the state general fund at the end of each fiscal year.

     The PUC, Hawaii Transportation Association, Kauai Electric,
The Gas Company, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., and Life of the
Land submitted testimony in support of the measure.

     Currently, the law requires that all moneys in excess of
$1,000,000 remaining in the PUC special fund at the end of each
fiscal year lapse into the state general fund.  This measure
would limit moneys unavailable to the PUC by virtue of their
lapsing by restricting the amount of lapsed funds to the greater
of either moneys in excess of $1,000,000, or two-thirds of the
fund's balance.  Allowing the PUC to keep more of the moneys in
the special fund will enable it to support a workload that
presently includes regulation of over two hundred sixty
utilities, two water carriers, and nine hundred motor carriers.
The additional resources will also enable the PUC to retain
qualified staff to monitor compliance by the regulated industries

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2139
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by initiating audits of carriers and tracking utility
expenditures.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to
this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of S.B. No. 2200 and recommends that it pass Second
Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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