CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 6

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2015

RE:    S.B. No. 1096

       S.D. 1

       H.D. 2

       C.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam and Sir:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 1096, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ON-BILL PROGRAMS,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this measure is to ensure that electric utilities serving as billing and collection agents in a purely pass-through capacity for any on-bill financing or repayment program are exempt from certain state or county taxes and state laws regulating financial institutions, escrow depositories, and collection agencies.

     Your Committee on Conference finds that electric utilities serving as billing and collection agents for an on-bill program serve in a pass-through capacity for any and all monies collected and remitted while participating in the on-bill program.  Accordingly, electric utilities who serve as billing and collection agents and function in a pass-through capacity are not raising revenue from monies collected and remitted while participating in an on-bill program.  Your Committee on Conference further finds that levying of revenue-related taxes or imposing other financial regulations on an electric utility participating in a pass-through capacity in an on-bill program would create additional costs for the utility, which could be passed on to ratepayers.  This measure eliminates these additional costs but does not impact other fees or taxes imposed on other amounts received in the normal course of operations by an electric utility.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of upon approval.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1096, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1096, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ CHRIS LEE, Co-Chair	____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair
____________________________ JUSTIN H. WOODSON, Co-Chair	____________________________ BREENE HARIMOTO, Co-Chair
____________________________ NICOLE E. LOWEN, Co-Chair