THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

121

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

  

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING A STUDY OF THE current POLICIES AND CRITERIA USED in CONDUCTing SUNRISE REVIEWS PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 26H, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES.

 

WHEREAS, Chapter 26H, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), the Hawaii Regulatory Licensing Reform Act, was originally enacted to require periodic reviews of professional and vocational regulatory programs; and

WHEREAS, the intent of these reviews was to assure that these regulatory programs were serving the public interest by protecting consumers from harm resulting from unregulated professional or vocational practices; and

WHEREAS, in its original enactment, this Act also required that impact statements be submitted with any proposal requesting regulation of an unregulated profession or vocation; and

WHEREAS, in 1984, the Act was amended to request the State Auditor to conduct a "sunrise" study of any proposal to regulate unregulated professions and occupations, prior to the enactment by the Legislature of any new regulatory program; and

WHEREAS, section 26H-2, HRS, delineates the specific policies and criteria to be used by the Auditor in conducting the sunrise review; and

WHEREAS, these policies and criteria have been reviewed and modified since 1977, most recently in 1996 to include a review of the relationship between the regulatory fee structure and the costs of the regulatory program; and

WHEREAS, additional factors that may impact upon consideration of whether to regulate a profession or vocation include economic impact, insurance reimbursement, and accessibility of services; and

WHEREAS, there could be additional factors that should be considered that would be identified through a study of other state regulatory practices and structures; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau (Bureau) is requested to conduct a study of the current policies and criteria used to conduct sunrise reviews pursuant to Chapter 26H, HRS; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Bureau's study should include, but not be limited to:

(1) Assessing the feasibility of including economic impact, insurance reimbursements, and accessibility of services, as additional factors to be considered by the Auditor in the review of any regulatory proposal; and

(2) A review of regulatory structures in other states, including any model regulatory acts, to ascertain what factors are used in assessing regulatory programs;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Bureau submit a report of findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2003 regular session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Auditor, and the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

 

 
 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Study of policies and criteria used for sunrise reviews