STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2856

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 2423
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No.
2423 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TOBACCO PRODUCTS REPORT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to establish a reporting
requirement for tobacco product manufacturers to assist the
Attorney General in the enforcement of the terms of the Master
Settlement Agreement, codified as Chapter 675, Hawaii Revised
Statutes.

     Your Committee finds that, under the terms of legislation
passed last year in accordance with Hawaii's settlement with
certain tobacco manufacturers, the tobacco manufacturers who did
not participate in the settlement are required to deposit
payments into escrow based on the level of their Hawaii sales.
To ensure that the non-settling manufacturers deposit the correct
amount into escrow, the State needs a mechanism to verify the
amount of tobacco products sold by them in Hawaii.  This bill
provides such a mechanism.  However, your Committee does not
intend to require tobacco manufacturers who did participate in
the settlement to report their sales under this proposed law.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Attorney General.

     Upon further consideration, your committee has amended this
measure by:

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2856
                                   Page 2



     (1)  Adding an exception to the reporting requirement for
          those tobacco manufacturers who participated in the
          settlement agreement, to relieve them of what would
          become double reporting requirements; and

     (2)  Making technical, non-substantive changes for the
          purposes of clarity and style.

     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.
2423, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2423, S.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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