Report Title:

Public Utilities Commission; Public Hearings

 

Description:

Clarifies the type of public notice required for public hearings held by the Public Utilities Commission in its regulation of utility rates and ratemaking procedures.

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

3081

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT


 

 

RELATING TO PUBLICATION OF HEARING NOTICES.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The State is continuously examining ways to develop more efficient and cost-effective means of operation.  Developing a more streamlined, consistent, and cost-effective means of providing notice of public hearings is one such way that would clearly be in the public interest.

     The legislature finds that one particular area in which public notice may be exceeding that which is necessary to accomplish its specific objectives, is where state law calls for publication of notice statewide, but the affected public resides not statewide, but on only one, or more, islands.  Where possible, by limiting the publication of notice of public hearings to those affected persons who reside in a geographic area that is less than statewide, costs of publication will be reduced dramatically, while assuring that notice is directed to those persons affected by the proposed activity.  If the proposed limitation on the scope of publication of notice had been incorporated into the state law during fiscal year 2006-2007, for example, the public utilities commission would have saved approximately $74,000, or forty-five per cent, in advertising expense.

     The purpose of this Act is to clarify the type of notice required for public hearings held by the public utilities commission in its regulation of utility rates and ratemaking procedures.

     SECTION 2.  Section 269-12, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

     "(c)  Any public hearing held pursuant to section [269-16(c) ] 269-16(b), shall be a noticed public hearing or hearings on the island or islands on which the utility [is situated.] provides utility services.  Notice of the hearing, with the purpose thereof and the date, time, and place at which it will open, shall be given not less than once in each of three weeks [statewide,] in the county or counties in which the utility provides utility service, the first notice being not less than [twenty-one] fourteen days before the public hearing and the last notice being not more than two days before the scheduled hearing.  The applicant or applicants shall notify their consumers or patrons of the proposed change in rates and of the time and place of the public hearing not less than one week before the date set, the manner and the fact of notification to be reported to the commission before the date of hearing."

SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

BY REQUEST