Hawaii Bills to Reduce Broadband Reporting Advance

Hawaii House and Senate committees advanced bills Tuesday to repeal some reporting requirements for broadband service providers. The House Consumer Protection Committee voted 9-0 for HB-371. At a joint meeting in the Senate, the Commerce Committee voted 4-1 and the Judiciary Committee each voted 4-1 for the similar SB-478. The bills would repeal Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 440J, which required wireline and cable companies to file broadband availability data at the census-block level and prices. The House Education Committee, which earlier cleared the bill, wrote in its report that Chapter 440J data collection “has effectively been replaced by the more comprehensive and granular data collection provided by the FCC.” Each bill may now go to its chamber’s floor.