REPORT TITLE:
Blind Vendors; Private Lawyers


DESCRIPTION:
Allows the State Committee of Blind Vendors to hire private
counsel; allocates moneys in the Randolph-Sheppard revolving
account into a federal source subaccount and a non-federal source
account; allows expenditure from non-federal source account for
purposes of the revolving account; makes an appropriation. (SD2)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2494
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO EMPOWERMENT OF THE BLIND.


BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that opportunities for the
 
 2 blind and visually handicapped must be provided to enable them to
 
 3 become self-sufficient and independent.  This can be achieved if
 
 4 they are empowered to make decisions and to care for themselves,
 
 5 such as empowering the state committee of blind vendors with
 
 6 discretionary authority over the funds generated from vending
 
 7 operations.  These funds are part of the Randolph-Sheppard
 
 8 revolving account and involve no state or federal moneys.
 
 9      The purpose of this Act is to allow the state committee of
 
10 blind vendors to hire private attorneys and to establish an
 
11 account into which is deposited $30,000 upon legislative
 
12 appropriation each fiscal year from the Randolph-Sheppard
 
13 revolving account, from which the state committee of blind
 
14 vendors may expend moneys for the purposes of the revolving
 
15 account.
 
16      SECTION 2.  Chapter 347, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
17 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
18 read as follows:
 
19      "§347-    Hiring outside counsel.  (a)  Notwithstanding
 

 
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 1 section 28-8.3, the state committee of blind vendors may hire
 
 2 private attorneys; provided that:
 
 3      (1)  The state committee of blind vendors first seek
 
 4           representation by the attorney general, and the
 
 5           attorney general is:
 
 6           (A)  Unwilling to provide representation to the state
 
 7                committee of blind vendors; or
 
 8           (B)  A court determines that the representation of the
 
 9                state committee of blind vendors by the attorney
 
10                general is directly adverse to another client of
 
11                the attorney general; or
 
12      (2)  The state committee of blind vendors finds that the
 
13           attorney general is unable to protect its
 
14           constitutional and statutory rights.
 
15      (b)  For purposes of subsection (a)(1)(A), the attorney
 
16 general shall determine if the attorney general is unwilling to
 
17 provide representation within thirty days upon receipt of the
 
18 request for representation."
 
19      SECTION 3.  Section 28-8.3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
20 amended as follows:
 
21      1.  By amending subsection (a) to read:
 
22      "(a)  No department of the State other than the attorney
 

 
 
 
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 1 general may employ or retain any attorney, by contract or
 
 2 otherwise, for the purpose of representing the State or the
 
 3 department in any litigation, rendering legal counsel to the
 
 4 department, or drafting legal documents for the department;
 
 5 provided that the foregoing provision shall not apply to the
 
 6 employment or retention of attorneys:
 
 7      (1)  By the public utilities commission, the labor and
 
 8           industrial relations appeals board, and the Hawaii
 
 9           labor relations board;
 
10      (2)  By any court or judicial or legislative office of the
 
11           State;
 
12      (3)  By the legislative reference bureau;
 
13      (4)  By any compilation commission that may be constituted
 
14           from time to time;
 
15      (5)  By the real estate commission for any action involving
 
16           the real estate recovery fund;
 
17      (6)  By the contractors license board for any action
 
18           involving the contractors recovery fund;
 
19      (7)  By the trustees for any action involving the travel
 
20           agency recovery fund;
 
21      (8)  By the office of Hawaiian affairs;
 
22      (9)  By the department of commerce and consumer affairs for
 

 
 
 
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 1           the enforcement of violations of chapters 480 and 485;
 
 2     (10)  As grand jury counsel;
 
 3     (11)  By the Hawaiian home lands trust individual claims
 
 4           review panel;
 
 5     (12)  By the Hawaii health systems corporation or any of its
 
 6           facilities;
 
 7     (13)  By the auditor;
 
 8     (14)  By the office of ombudsman;
 
 9     (15)  By the insurance division;
 
10     (16)  By the University of Hawaii; [or]
 
11     (17)  By the state committee of blind vendors, as provided
 
12           under section 347-  ; or
 
13    [(17)] (18)  By a department, in the event the attorney
 
14           general, for reasons deemed by the attorney general
 
15           good and sufficient, declines, to employ or retain an
 
16           attorney for a department; provided that the governor
 
17           thereupon waives the provision of this section."
 
18      2.  By amending subsection (c) to read:
 
19      "(c)  Every attorney employed by any department on a full-
 
20 time basis, except an attorney employed by the public utilities
 
21 commission, the labor and industrial relations appeals board, the
 
22 Hawaii labor relations board, the office of Hawaiian affairs, the
 

 
 
 
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 1 Hawaii health systems corporation, the department of commerce and
 
 2 consumer affairs in prosecution of consumer complaints, insurance
 
 3 division, the University of Hawaii, the state committee of blind
 
 4 vendors, the Hawaiian home lands trust individual claims review
 
 5 panel, or as grand jury counsel, shall be a deputy attorney
 
 6 general."
 
 7      SECTION 4.  Section 347-12.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 8 amended to read as follows:
 
 9      "[[]§347-12.5[]]  Randolph-Sheppard revolving account.(a)
 
10 There is established within the state treasury the Randolph-
 
11 Sheppard revolving account.  The revolving account shall be used
 
12 by the department of human services for:
 
13      (1)  The provision of the following benefits for blind
 
14           vendors:
 
15           (A)  A retirement or pension plan;
 
16           (B)  Health insurance; and
 
17           (C)  Sick and vacation leave;
 
18      (2)  The maintenance and replacement of equipment used in
 
19           the blind vending program;
 
20      (3)  The purchase of new equipment to be used in the blind
 
21           vending program; and
 
22      (4)  The provision of management services, which shall
 

 
 
 
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 1           include[,] but not be limited to:
 
 2           (A)  The hiring of consultants;
 
 3           (B)  The sponsoring of training seminars;
 
 4           (C)  Transportation;
 
 5           (D)  Per diem for vendors to attend meetings of the
 
 6                state committee of blind vendors;
 
 7           (E)  Services for the state committee of blind
 
 8                vendors[;] including the hiring of private
 
 9                attorneys pursuant to section 347-  ; and
 
10           (F)  Other costs related to the blind vending program.
 
11      (b)  Income from vending [machines] operations, such as
 
12 operations at an airport, on federal, state, and county
 
13 properties that are within reasonable proximity to, and in direct
 
14 competition with, a blind vendor may be deposited into the
 
15 revolving account and then disbursed to the blind vendor.
 
16      (c)  The revolving account shall consist of funds derived
 
17 from:
 
18      (1)  Vending [machine income generated by] operations on
 
19           federal, state, and county [operations;] properties;
 
20      (2)  Any other legally accepted source of income; and
 
21      (3)  Donations[.];
 
22 provided that, beginning on July 1, 2000, any moneys deposited in
 

 
 
 
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 1 the revolving account that are derived from vending operations
 
 2 shall be identified as to whether the income is generated from
 
 3 federal, state, or county vending operations, and all moneys from
 
 4 federal vending operations shall be segregated into a federal
 
 5 source subaccount and all other moneys shall be segregated into a
 
 6 non-federal source subaccount that shall be expended for the
 
 7 purpose of this section.
 
 8      (d)  At the beginning of each fiscal year, if appropriated
 
 9 by the legislature, the director of human services or the
 
10 director's designee shall transfer $30,000 from the non-federal
 
11 source subaccount to an interest-bearing account in a federally-
 
12 insured financial institution that shall be:
 
13      (1)  Selected by the state committee of blind vendors; and
 
14      (2)  In the name of the state committee of blind vendors.
 
15      The department of human services shall report to the
 
16 legislature no later than sixty days following the close of each
 
17 fiscal year on activities and current balance of the revolving
 
18 account.
 
19      (e)  The transfer of moneys under subsection (d) shall not
 
20 affect the expenditure of funds from the revolving account by the
 
21 department of human services."
 
22      SECTION 5.  There is appropriated out of the non-federal
 

 
 
 
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 1 source subaccount of the Randolph-Sheppard revolving account the
 
 2 sum of $          , or so much thereof as may be necessary for
 
 3 fiscal year 2000-2001, to enable the director of human services
 
 4 to transfer the appropriate amount to the account of the blind
 
 5 vendors pursuant to section 347-12.5(d), Hawaii Revised Statutes,
 
 6 for the uses listed in section 347-12.5(a), Hawaii Revised
 
 7 Statutes.  Unexpended and unencumbered amounts on June 30 of each
 
 8 fiscal year in the account of the blind vendors pursuant to
 
 9 section 347-12.5(d), Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be returned
 
10 to the non-federal source subaccount of the Randolph-Sheppard
 
11 revolving account.
 
12      SECTION 6.  The sum appropriated shall be expended by the
 
13 department of human services.
 
14      SECTION 7.  If any provision of this Act or application
 
15 thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or
 
16 determined to be contrary to any federal law or regulation, the
 
17 invalidity or such determination shall not affect other
 
18 provisions or applications of the Act which can be given effect
 
19 without the provision or application held invalid or determined
 
20 to be contrary to federal law or regulation, and to this end the
 
21 provisions of this Act are severable.
 
22      SECTION 8.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 

 
 
 
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 1 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 2      SECTION 9.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval;
 
 3 provided that sections 5 and 6 shall take effect on July 1, 2000.