Committee amends resolution to allow limited Japanese-language timeshare salesperson license; commission cautions about oversight

The House Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce on April 1 passed HCR102 and HR98 with amendments to permit administration of the real estate salesperson examination in Japanese for the purpose of issuing a limited real estate salesperson license limited to the sale of timeshare products to Japanese nationals.

Veil Fujitani testified on behalf of the Hawaii Real Estate Commission and said the commission opposed the original version of the measure, which would have issued a full real estate salesperson's license in Japanese. "The commission has a problem or issue with issuing a conditional license limited to the timeshare industry," Fujitani said, noting concerns about oversight and how a limited, industry-specific license would be supervised once a licensee left the sponsoring organization.

Linda Rodrigues testified for the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), representing the timeshare industry, and urged the committee to allow a Japanese-language exam so that bilingual sales executives could be hired and retained. Rodrigues said the industry includes "over 90 resorts and 15,000 timeshare units" and told the committee that sales presentations to Japanese guests are delivered in Japanese and that translating the exam would reduce repeated test attempts and help recruit bilingual employees. She said the industry would sponsor translation costs and that other states (for example, Florida and New York) offer the exam in additional languages.

Committee members and the Real Estate Commission discussed whether a license issued after taking the exam in Japanese should be limited in scope. The committee agreed to amend the resolution to change the purpose from issuing a full real estate salesperson's license to issuing a limited license specifically for timeshare sales, and members discussed whether to phrase the limitation for "Japanese speaking" individuals or "Japanese nationals." The chair directed an amendment to use "Japanese nationals."

The committee adopted the vice chair's recommendation to pass the measure with amendments. The record notes at least two "no" votes on the amended recommendation (Representative Yohamoto and Representative Purok). No further statutory text was enacted at the hearing; the committee's action will send a draft with amendments for subsequent consideration.