HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

128

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE REAL ESTATE COMMISSION TO ALLOW DEVELOPERS AND ATTORNEYS TO SUBMIT CONDOMINIUM REGISTRATION FILINGS IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT.

 

 


     WHEREAS, during the last two years, the Legislature has implemented "paperless" initiatives, with great success both in terms of reduction of paper usage and streamlining the legislative process; and

 

     WHEREAS, the public has access to many governmental services via the Internet, allowing individuals to file State income tax returns electronically, obtain Certificates of Good Standing for Hawaii businesses, register businesses, register to obtain a Hawaii state identification card, and perform many other tasks; and

 

     WHEREAS, similarly, other state and federal agencies have also initiated paperless filing procedures, such as electronic filing of income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service, renewal of real estate licenses in various states, and submission of applications for many types of licenses; and

 

     WHEREAS, the federal judiciary, to a large extent, allows electronic filing of pleadings in federal courts, as over thirty-three million cases are on the federal case management systems, and more than four hundred thousand attorneys and others have filed documents over the Internet; and

 

     WHEREAS, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development now permits a developer subject to the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, 15 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., to submit subdivision registration documents via CD-ROM; and

 

     WHEREAS, even though the Real Estate Commission posts approved condominium public reports on its website in PDF format, it nonetheless still requires developers and their attorneys to submit their condominium project registration materials in paper format; and

 

     WHEREAS, draft condominium public reports and supporting documentation can be several hundred pages long and can be expensive and cumbersome for the developer, its attorney, and the Real Estate Commission to produce and handle; and

 

     WHEREAS, upon receipt of the application documentation from a developer or its attorney, the Real Estate Commission must transmit the bulky materials to the private consultant retained by the Real Estate Commission via mail or courier or hold these materials for the consultant to pick up, which can unnecessarily delay processing of the condominium registration application; and

 

     WHEREAS, after the registration review process is completed, the supporting documents for each condominium project registration are held at the Real Estate Commission for a time and then are archived offsite, and retrieval for public or government agency viewing can be time-consuming; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature believes that if the Real Estate Commission begins accepting application materials for condominium registration in electronic format, such as CD-ROM, this practice will:  cut down on unnecessary delays if the Real Estate Commission sends application materials to its private consultants via electronic mail, as opposed to by regular mail or holding the materials for the consultants to pickup; save the cost and expense of reproducing and handling bulky submission materials; permit easy archiving of older condominium projects; and streamline the condominium registration process for the Real Estate Commission, its private consultants, and developers and their attorneys; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, that the Real Estate Commission is urged to accept filings for condominium registrations and supporting documents in CD-ROM or other electronic format compatible with chapter 489E, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chair of the Real Estate Commission is requested to report on the measures taken by the Real Estate Commission to accept condominium registration filings in electronic format, to the Legislature twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the Chair of the Real Estate Commission.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Condominiums; Real Estate Commission; Electronic Filing