Hawaii-2012-HB2477-Introduced

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to ensure the stability of the small business regulatory review board by:

(1) Transferring the board, with its statutory duties and powers, from the department of business, economic development, and tourism to the department of commerce and consumer affairs, and authorizing the expenses of the board to be funded from the compliance resolution fund; and

(2) Requiring each agency to notify the small business regulatory review board on an annual basis of any rules to be amended or repealed to reflect statutory amendments or repeals.

SECTION 2. Section 201M-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§201M-5 Small business regulatory review board; powers. (a) There shall be established within the department of [~~business, economic development, and tourism,~~] commerce and consumer affairs, for administrative purposes[,] only, a small business regulatory review board to review any proposed new or amended rule or to consider any request from small business owners for review of any rule adopted by a state agency and to make recommendations to the agency or the legislature regarding the need for a rule change or legislation. For requests regarding county ordinances, the board may make recommendations to the county council or the mayor for appropriate action.

(b) The board shall consist of eleven members, who shall be appointed by the governor pursuant to section 26-34. Nominations to fill vacancies shall be made from names submitted by the review board. The appointments shall reflect representation of a variety of businesses in the State; provided that no more than two members shall be representatives from the same type of business, and that there shall be at least two representatives from each county.

(c) All members of the board shall be either a current or former owner or officer of a business and shall not be an officer or employee of the federal, state, or county government. A majority of the board shall elect the chairperson. The chairperson shall serve a term of not more than one year, unless removed earlier by a two-thirds vote of all members to which the board is entitled.

(d) A majority of all the members to which the board is entitled shall constitute a quorum to do business, and the concurrence of a majority of all the members to which the board is entitled shall be necessary to make any action of the board valid.

(e) In addition to any other powers provided by this chapter, the board may:

(1) Adopt any rules necessary to implement this chapter;

(2) Organize and hold conferences on problems affecting small business; and

(3) Do any and all things necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.

(f) The board shall submit an annual report to the legislature twenty days prior to each regular session detailing any requests from small business owners for review of any rule adopted by a state agency, and any recommendations made by the board to an agency or the legislature regarding the need for a rule change or legislation. The report shall also contain a summary of the comments made by the board to agencies regarding its review of proposed new or amended rules.

(g) The expenses of the board may be funded from the compliance resolution fund established under section 26-9; provided that this provision shall not require the board to charge any fee for its service. The director of commerce and consumer affairs may include, as a part of any other fee charged to a person or organization with a reasonable nexus to the small business regulatory review board, an amount for the activities of the board.

For the purpose of this subsection, "expenses" include operating expenses, personnel expenses, cash capital expenses, and debt service attributable to the board."

SECTION 3. Section 201M-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) Each agency having rules that affect small business shall submit by June 30 of each odd-numbered year, a list of those rules to the small business regulatory review board[.]; provided that each agency that is required to amend or repeal rules pursuant to statutory amendment or repeal, shall submit by June 30 of each year a list of these rules to be amended or repealed to the small business regulatory review board. The agency shall also submit a report describing the specific public purpose or interest for adopting the respective rules that affect small business and any other reasons to justify [~~its~~] their continued implementation."

SECTION 4. All rights, powers, functions, and duties of the small business regulatory review board are transferred to the department of commerce and consumer affairs.

All officers and employees whose functions are transferred by this Act shall be transferred with their functions and shall continue to perform their regular duties upon their transfer, subject to the state personnel laws and this Act.

No officer or employee of the State having tenure shall suffer any loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefit or privilege as a consequence of this Act, and such officer or employee may be transferred or appointed to a civil service position without the necessity of examination; provided that the officer or employee possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which transferred or appointed; and provided that subsequent changes in status may be made pursuant to applicable civil service and compensation laws.

An officer or employee of the State who does not have tenure and who may be transferred or appointed to a civil service position as a consequence of this Act shall become a civil service employee without the loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefits or privileges and without the necessity of examination; provided that such officer or employee possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which transferred or appointed.

If an office or position held by an officer or employee having tenure is abolished, the officer or employee shall not thereby be separated from public employment, but shall remain in the employment of the State with the same pay and classification and shall be transferred to some other office or position for which the officer or employee is eligible under the personnel laws of the State as determined by the head of the department or the governor.

SECTION 5. All appropriations, records, equipment, machines, files, supplies, contracts, books, papers, documents, maps, electronic communications systems such as RegAlert, and other personal property heretofore made, used, acquired, or held by the department of business, economic development, and tourism relating to the functions transferred to the department of commerce and consumer affairs shall be transferred with the functions to which they relate.

SECTION 6. This Act shall not affect the membership or term of any appointed member of the small business regulatory review board, and any member shall continue to serve on the board for the member's term without necessity of reappointment.

SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2012.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________
	BY REQUEST

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2477
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII