House Standing Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce

Good afternoon, convening the Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce. Today is Thursday, April 10th. This is our two p.m. hearing. We're in at the State Capitol and conference room 329. In order to allow as many people to testify as possible, there will be a two limit, two-minute time limit per testifier.

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Okay, going on to our lengthy agenda, we have SCR 123 SD1 requesting the judiciary to convene a working group to research landlord-tenant issues specific to increasing the supply of rental housing and improving landlord tenant interactions. First, we have the judiciary not present. DCCA.

Thank you, Vice Chair, Members. Officially, on our written testimony, we were on record as asking to defer this measure, but we're not opposed to the idea of a working group. We favor the vehicle that's been introduced in the Senate Bill, and we'd be happy to be part of that. We're not officially included on that one yet, but we would be interested in being part of that. That's it. And I'm happy to answer any questions.

Okay, thank you. We have Hawaii Realtors.

Aloha Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. My name is Lindsay Garcia from Hawaii Realtors. We stand in strong support of this measure and we ask for your support in passing it through. Thank you.

All right, thank you. Is there anyone else wishing to testify in this measure? Seeing none Members, are there any questions for DCCA? Thank you.

So whichever task force does move forward to address updating the landlord tenant code, and given that your agency looks at both consumers as well as commerce, the interests of both, do you think it could be useful or helpful to have equal numbers of representation from the tenant groups and individuals who serve tenants as well, and then equal numbers of those who serve landlords and landowners and managers?

Especially because this is the landlord tenant code, and then maybe a third group that would be the judiciary or just kind of neutral parties such as DCC who wear multiple hats.

Thank you for the question. I realize I forgot to say my name for the record. It's Mana Moriarty. I'm Executive Director of the Office of Consumer Protection at DCCA. It's a really good question. I'll defer to the Legislature on the composition, you know, balancing out the interests involved.

I will say that I think the work that comes out of the working group, there may be a fear that if there is a fear that sort of a minority voice could be stifled as a result of the Committee composition. I will say that there are other ways to that minority voice.

It does not disappear just because it doesn't have the full support of the Committee behind it. So you might see, for example, measures that didn't garner the full support, legislative proposals that didn't get the full support of the working group, introduced through other vehicles besides the, you know, the official avenue of the working group.

Okay, so, but if you. If you had a role on the task force, would the final recommendations of the task force be arrived at through a vote? Or how would you imagine the group saying, this is our official recommendation? Would it be through a vote? And so the majority kind of would prevail.

I'm not sure. I would defer to the convener as to whether they want to operate by consensus or if a vote becomes necessary. That would be the judiciary. Correct. Okay, thank you so much.

All right, any other questions? Members seeing none. Right in. Do we have a quorum that we have? Yeah, six. Yep. Let's provide to them.

All right. Members are going into decision making. So the recommendation is to pass out a House draft one.

And we're going to take the amendments proposed by the judiciary and the realtors, which is just narrowing the scope of the working group, to be in line with House Senate Bill 822, and then make conforming amendments to make sure it's all consistent with those requirements. Any questions, comments or concerns?

I think yes. Thank you, Chair. I enthusiastically support, however, with one minor reservation, which is again, the, you know, explicitly stating that there'll be, you know, balanced representation so that it has more credibility with the community. Although I have to say I really do trust the judiciary being very judicious in its. In how it moves this forward.

But I think just, again, just to build up credibility in the. In the community, to explicitly add a statement that have equal numbers of tenant representatives as landlord representatives.

Okay, thank you. Any other Members seeing None. Chair for the vote.

All right. Vice Chair's recommendation for SCR123SD1 is to pass with amendments. [Roll Call] Repair is excused. Vice Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

All right, thank you, Members. Re adjourned.