STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3752

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1511

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1511, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Prohibit entities from distributing unsolicited mail or electronic mail that employs high pressure tactics or is reasonably likely to cause a consumer to believe that the sender is affiliated with another entity that the sender is not actually affiliated with and the entity is asking the recipient to pay for goods, services, or forms of legal authorization, unless certain disclosures are met; and

(2) Make contracts that fail to meet disclosure requirements voidable at the option of the consumer.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Insurance Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Office of Consumer Protection of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Mortgage Bankers Association of Hawaii, and four individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association.

Your Committee finds that tactics such as the use of unsolicited mailers or emails that employ urgent, official-sounding language to create the false impression that a manufacturer's warranty or mortgage protection is expiring, or a government license or registration needs to be renewed immediately, are predatory and designed to pressure consumers into purchasing expensive service contracts by mimicking the appearance of correspondence from an original manufacturer, dealer, or lender. This measure will allow consumers to effectively distinguish legitimate businesses from those that rely on consumer confusion to generate sales by requiring senders to be transparent about their identity and targeting companies that use correspondence that mimics correspondence from a consumer's mortgage lender, the department of motor vehicles, or government agencies.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1511, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair