STAND. COM. REP. NO. 664

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1317

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1317, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BROADBAND,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to facilitate access to high-speed broadband internet service.

Specifically, the measure:

(1) Appropriates $33,000,000 from state general funds to provide the matching funds required to receive federal funds for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program;

(2) Appropriates $95,000,000 from the funds received by the State from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) for the BEAD Program;

(3) Appropriates an unspecified amount from state general funds for additional matching fund requirements for federal fund programs related to broadband;

(4) Requires the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, rather than the University of Hawaii and Hawaii Broadband and Digital Equity Office, to convene the working group that was established pursuant to Act 231, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, for the purpose of determining the appropriate governance structure to implement, operate, and maintain broadband infrastructure development in the State; and

(5) Requires the Lieutenant Governor or a designee to serve as the Chair of the foregoing working group.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor; Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; Department of Budget and Finance; Hawaii Primary Care Association; and Hawaiian Telcom.

Your Committee finds that access to high-speed internet is essential to enable Hawaii residents to engage in remote work and remote learning and to access telehealth and other critical services. Your Committee recognizes that several federal programs provide states with significant funding to improve broadband access, subject to states providing matching funds.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the appropriation amounts in section 2 and section 3 of the measure to unspecified amounts to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

(2) Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purpose of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1317, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1317, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

________________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair