CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT NO.186

                            Honolulu, Hawaii
                                            , 1999

                            RE:   H.B. No. 989
                                  H.D. 1
                                  S.D. 2
                                  C.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the
House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate
in H.B. No. 989, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, entitled:

    "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE RELIEF OF CERTAIN PERSONS'
    CLAIMS AGAINST THE STATE AND PROVIDING APPROPRIATIONS
    THEREFOR,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to
recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final
passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to:

     (1) Pay claims for judgments, settlements, legislative
         claims for relief, and other miscellaneous claims
         against the State;

     (2) Require that claims for legislative relief be made
         within six years from the date on which the claim for
         payment matured;


 
 
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     (3) Require the Attorney General to consult with the
         Governor before entering into any settlement agreements
         for awards exceeding $15,000 that are subject to
         legislative approval;

     (4) Require the Attorney General to develop and implement a
         procedure for advising its client agencies on how to
         avoid future claims; and

     (5) Require future claims for which money is required to
         satisfy a judgment or settlement agreement to be funded
         through the agency's departmental allocation and not by
         general fund appropriations when the agency fails to
         modify existing practices and procedures.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this bill by:

     (1) Removing the provision requiring certain claims to be
         paid out of the State Highway Fund and providing for
         payment of those claims out of the general fund;

     (2) Deleting the provision requiring future claims to be
         paid from the agency's departmental allocation instead
         of general funds when the agency fails to modify
         existing practices and procedures;

     (3) Requiring the Attorney General to consult with the
         Governor prior to entering into any settlement
         agreements for amounts exceeding $75,000; 

     (4) Requiring the Attorney General to report to the Speaker
         of the House of Representatives, the President of the
         Senate, and the chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary
         Committees no later than twenty days prior to the
         convening of each regular legislative session describing
         the claims and their attendant circumstances and
         containing the advice for corrective action rendered to
         the agency;

     (5) Requiring the Attorney General's report to reflect the
         remedial actions taken by the Attorney General or
         recommendations for remedial actions that should be
         taken by the Legislature if an agency fails to take
         corrective actions as recommended;

     (6) Deeming the Attorney General report confidential to
         prevent disclosure of confidential or privileged
         material pursuant to chapter 92F, Hawaii Revised
         Statutes;

 
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     (7) Correcting a drafting error with respect to the
         Matsushima v. State settlement to reflect the correct
         civil case number;

     (8) Adding four additional claims as recommended by the
         Attorney General; and

     (9) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes
         of clarity and consistency.

     Your Committee on Conference believes that requiring the
Attorney General to consult with the Governor on claims exceeding
$75,000 will result in greater accountability with respect to the
settlement of claims against the State.  Your Committee on
Conference does not intend for this provision to require the
Governor to sit on actual negotiations or settlement conferences
but, instead, to merely review and approve those claims prior to
the Attorney General's entering into any settlement agreement.

     Your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent
and purpose of H.B. No. 989, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, as amended herein,
and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached
hereto as H.B. No. 989, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, C.D. 1.

                                   Respectfully submitted,

MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE        MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE
           SENATE                              HOUSE
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair        PAUL T. OSHIRO, Co-Chair
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
MATT MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair           DWIGHT Y. TAKAMINE, Co-Chair
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair           ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Member
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Member            BERTHA C. KAWAKAMI, Member

 
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                                   ______________________________
                                   EMILY J. AUWAE, Member