STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2504

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2283
                                        S.D. 1




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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which
was referred S.B. No. 2283 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PUBLIC UTILITIES
     COMMISSION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to authorize the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) to require the parties to a PUC
proceeding to participate in alternate dispute resolution
processes before the hearing.

     Your Committee received testimony from the Judiciary,
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, PUC, Kauai Electric,
Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., GTE, Life of the Land, and
Apollo Energy Corporation.

     Your Committee finds that many controversial issues are
often unnecessarily heard before the PUC and that the parties
could have resolved their differences, instead, through mutually
agreeable dispute resolution processes.  If such resolutions can
be reached prior to a PUC hearing, the PUC docket would be clear
for cases that truly require an evidentiary hearing.  Thus, this
bill allows the PUC to streamline its hearing processes and focus
on more important issues. 

     Your Committee has amended this measure to clarify that the
alternative dispute resolution process to which the parties may
be required to participate is to be non-binding.

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2504
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     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to
this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of S.B. No. 2283, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B.
No. 2283, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third
Reading.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Commerce and
                                   Consumer Protection,



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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