STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1524

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 1471
                                        H.D. 1
                                        S.D. 1




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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B.
No. 1471, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to amend provisions relating to
the Office of Elections.  Specifically, this bill:

     (1)  Renames the elections appointment panel to the
          elections appointment and review panel;

     (2)  Establishes an elections review program to among other
          things, establish performance standards for the
          election process, conduct a biennial review of the
          performance of the Chief Election Officer, and require
          a biennial evaluation report containing findings and
          recommendations to the Legislature about the election
          operations;

     (3)  Transfers the Office of Elections and the elections
          appointment and review panel from being
          administratively attached to the Office of the
          Lieutenant Governor to being administratively attached
          to the Department of Accounting and General Services;


 
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     (4)  Makes these functions permanent by removing the repeal
          and reenactment language from Act 27, Session Session
          Laws of Hawaii 1995, that required these provisions to
          sunset on June 30, 1999; and

     (5)  Makes a $5,000 appropriation to implement the
          provisions of this bill.

     Your Committee finds that the concerns addressed by this
bill follow close on the heels of one of the largest election
recounts ever to have occurred in Hawaii and possibly the
country.  The ballot recount of the November 1998 election and
the close scrutiny given to the reappointment of the incumbent
Chief Election Officer this session both underscore the major
points of this bill.  These include a performance evaluation of
the election process and program, and the job performance of the
Chief Election Officer.

     Your Committee further finds that the pursuit of the
American ideal of participatory democracy requires placing
responsibility upon the shoulders of those who implement the
election laws.  Creating the election appointment and review
panel and requiring the panel to establish performance standards
for the election process and the job performance of the Chief
Election Officer will give the public stronger assurances of
oversight and quality control.  Through the panel, the
Legislature will receive a biennial report upon which to decide
how well the process is working and whether certain individuals
are doing a good job.  It is hoped that this will remove the
political spectre from the public's image of the election
process, thereby restoring their faith in the democratic process.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
1471, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.


 
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                                 Respectfully submitted on behalf
                                 of the members of the Committee
                                 on Ways and Means,



                                 ________________________________
                                 CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair



                                 ________________________________
                                 ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair

 
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