STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1805

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  GOV. MSG. NO. 145
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred
Governor's Message No. 145, submitting for study and
consideration the nomination of:

     MARGERY S. BRONSTER, gubernatorial nominee as Attorney
General, for a term to expire December 2, 2002,

begs leave to report as follows:

     Upon review of the resume and other background information
submitted by the nominee, your Committee finds that Margery
Bronster holds an A.B. degree in Chinese Language and Literature
and History from Brown University, and a J.D. degree from the
Columbia University School of Law.  Ms. Bronster has practiced
law with a New York firm and, for six years, with the Honolulu
firm of Carlsmith Ball Wichman Murray Case & Ichiki.  Ms.
Bronster has served as Attorney General since January 1995, and
is now nominated for a second term.

     Testimony in support of the nominee was submitted by the
Attorney General of Mississippi, the Hawaii State Commission on
the Status of Women, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney
for the City and County of Honolulu, the Department of the
Prosecuting Attorney for the County of Maui, the Office of the
Prosecuting Attorney for the County of Hawaii, the Honolulu
Police Department, the Maui Police Department, the Kauai Police
Department, the Hawaii Police Department, the Domestic Violence
Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline, the Sex Abuse Treatment Center,
the Hilo Medical Center, the Kamehameha Alumni Association of the
Northern California region, the Hawaii Carpenters Union, the

 
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Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Catholic
Charities of the Diocese of Honolulu, and 20 individuals.  The
supporting testimony indicated that Ms. Bronster's legal and
administrative skills are highly respected, and that her tenure
as Attorney General has included some notable civil successes for
the State, including participation in the tobacco master
settlement agreement, and increased advocacy for stronger
criminal laws and law enforcement, in general.  Additional
supporting testimony praised the Attorney General's handling of
matters involving Bishop Estate.  Testimony opposing the
nomination was submitted by the Government Affairs and
Sovereignty Committee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Lambda
Aloha, and 21 individuals.  The opposing testimony focused
largely on the Attorney General's handling of matters involving
Bishop Estate.

     Your Committee members diligently questioned the nominee
regarding her administrative qualifications, her visions, and her
priorities as the Attorney General.  Your Committee further
questioned Ms. Bronster about her handling, as Attorney General,
of matters involving the Bishop Estate, about the relationship
between the Attorney General and other state agencies, and about
her plans for assisting the Department of Education to comply
with the Felix consent decree.  Based upon this discussion, your
Committee believes that the nominee adequately responded to the
Committee's inquiries.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee, after full consideration of the background, character,
experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the
nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and
recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.


                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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