Business Friendly Bills Become Law

Governor Lingle signed business friendly bills at a recent ceremony.

Governor Linda Lingle signedseveral business-friendly bills into law on June 15 before a packed crowd in a conference room at the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Office. A bi-partisan delegation of legislators, representatives from the business sector, members of the Governor’s cabinet, the DCCA and Lt. Governor Duke Aiona were present for the bill signing.

The bill signed into law included the following:

Act 116 (SB 1318): Authorizes the DCCA to adjust business registration fees and other non-tax revenues to help maintain a reasonable relationship between revenue collections and the cost of public services rendered.

Act 117 (SB 2906): Reduces the fee from $25 to $5 for a Certificate of Good Standing issued by the DCCA to registered businesses who need to demonstrate their state filings are current.

Act 118 (HB 2408): Requires health insurers to treat qualified trade associations as groups for the purpose of providing health insurance coverage.

Act 119 (SB 2358): Establishes a procedure for residential property owners and contractors to resolve construction defect claims without going to court.

Also signed into law were the following:

Act 120 (SB 2882): Encourages diversification of Hawaii’s economy by allowing foreign insurers to become licensed in Hawaii and to become licensed in other states as long as they maintain their base of U.S. operations in Hawaii.

Act 121 (SB 2908): Clarifies ambiguities and corrects errors and inconsistencies in business registration laws and allows shareholders to act by less than unanimous consent.

Act 122 (HB 2411): Updates, streamlines and conforms insurance laws to the requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley and Producers License Model Acts. Exempts health insurance policies for self-employed persons from mandatory coverage requirements.

During the bill signing ceremony Governor Lingle indicated that workers comp and liability insurance reform would be on the table next session. The Governor has until July 13 to make her decision on several more bills. More than 130 new bills have become law.

A complete list of bills that have become law this year can be found at the State Legislature’s website: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov.

PRIVATE SPACESHIP MAKES HISTORIC FLIGHT

PRIVATE SPACE FLIGHT: Spaceship One is mated to the White Knight carrier jet on its June 21st flight to become the first manned private spacecraft to fly into space. The historic flight which made an astronaut out of civilian test pilot Mike Melvill paves the way for private industry to move commerce and small business to a new frontier. Details on the historic flight can be viewed at http://www.scaled.com.