THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

120

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING A REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS' PLANS AND POLICIES AFFECTING PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL, OR GOVERNMENTAL ACCESS TELEVISION.

 

WHEREAS, state law currently requires cable television operators to designate three or more channels for public, educational, or governmental use; and

WHEREAS, the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs has designated four nonprofit access organizations, one for each county, to oversee the development, operation, supervision, management, production, or broadcasting of programs for these channels, funded by a small portion of cable subscriber fees; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that there is significant value provided by cable access organizations to the public, as they broadcast local programs, neighborhood board meetings, legislative hearings and sessions, county council meetings, educational programs, and local conferences on a wide variety of topics; and

WHEREAS, the need for this programming and the value received by it are similar throughout the State; and

WHEREAS, the cost of the access organizations' infrastructure is significant, but the resources provided to the access organizations vary greatly throughout the State, as they are based on a percentage of the cable user fees from each county; and

WHEREAS, concerns have been expressed that the ability of an access organization to broadcast information to its residents should not depend upon the number of residents on that island, but should be shared by all state residents in order that all residents may receive equal benefits no matter where they reside; and

WHEREAS, equity among access organizations is one of the issues being addressed by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) in its discussions with the access organizations, in addition to the issues of the organizations' minimum resource requirements and revenue sharing; and

WHEREAS, this dialogue is being undertaken as part of the Department's efforts to develop a written plan that will provide all interested parties with notice of the DCCA's plans and policies that affect cable access; and

WHEREAS, additionally, DCCA will be holding public information gathering meetings in each county to obtain public input on such issues as the desirability of expanding cable access, the type of access desired, alternatives for funding access, and local control over access-related decisions; and

WHEREAS, DCCA anticipates completion of a final plan before the start of the next Regular Session; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is requested to develop a written plan that will provide notice to all interested parties of the Department's plans and policies that affect cable access; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director is requested to submit a report on the plan to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2004; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Report Title:

PEG Access Organizations; DCCA Plans and Policies