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.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2559
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO 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
 
20 section 28-8.3, the state committee of blind vendors may hire
 

 
Page 2                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2559
                                                        
                                                        

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

 
Page 3                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2559
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 department, or drafting legal documents for the department;
 
 2 provided that the foregoing provision shall not apply to the
 
 3 employment or retention of attorneys:
 
 4      (1)  By the public utilities commission, the labor and
 
 5           industrial relations appeals board, and the Hawaii
 
 6           labor relations board;
 
 7      (2)  By any court or judicial or legislative office of the
 
 8           State;
 
 9      (3)  By the legislative reference bureau;
 
10      (4)  By any compilation commission that may be constituted
 
11           from time to time;
 
12      (5)  By the real estate commission for any action involving
 
13           the real estate recovery fund;
 
14      (6)  By the contractors license board for any action
 
15           involving the contractors recovery fund;
 
16      (7)  By the trustees for any action involving the travel
 
17           agency recovery fund;
 
18      (8)  By the office of Hawaiian affairs;
 
19      (9)  By the department of commerce and consumer affairs for
 
20           the enforcement of violations of chapters 480 and 485;
 
21     (10)  As grand jury counsel;
 
22     (11)  By the Hawaiian home lands trust individual claims
 
23           review panel;
 

 
Page 4                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2559
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1     (12)  By the Hawaii health systems corporation or any of its
 
 2           facilities;
 
 3     (13)  By the auditor;
 
 4     (14)  By the office of ombudsman;
 
 5     (15)  By the insurance division;
 
 6     (16)  By the University of Hawaii; [or]
 
 7     (17)  By the state committee of blind vendors, as provided
 
 8           under section 347-  ; or
 
 9    [(17)] (18)  By a department, in the event the attorney
 
10           general, for reasons deemed by the attorney general
 
11           good and sufficient, declines, to employ or retain an
 
12           attorney for a department; provided that the governor
 
13           thereupon waives the provision of this section."
 
14      SECTION 4.  Section 347-12.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
15 amended to read as follows:
 
16      "[[]§347-12.5[]]  Randolph-Sheppard revolving account.(a)
 
17 There is established within the state treasury the Randolph-
 
18 Sheppard revolving account.  The revolving account shall be used
 
19 by the department of human services for:
 
20      (1)  The provision of the following benefits for blind
 
21           vendors:
 
22           (A)  A retirement or pension plan;
 
23           (B)  Health insurance; and
 

 
Page 5                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2559
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           (C)  Sick and vacation leave;
 
 2      (2)  The maintenance and replacement of equipment used in
 
 3           the blind vending program;
 
 4      (3)  The purchase of new equipment to be used in the blind
 
 5           vending program; and
 
 6      (4)  The provision of management services, which shall
 
 7           include[,] but not be limited to:
 
 8           (A)  The hiring of consultants;
 
 9           (B)  The sponsoring of training seminars;
 
10           (C)  Transportation;
 
11           (D)  Per diem for vendors to attend meetings of the
 
12                state committee of blind vendors;
 
13           (E)  Services for the state committee of blind
 
14                vendors[;] including the hiring of private
 
15                attorneys pursuant to section 347-  ; and
 
16           (F)  Other costs related to the blind vending program.
 
17      (b)  Income from vending [machines] operations, such as
 
18 operations at an airport, on federal, state, and county
 
19 properties that are within reasonable proximity to, and in direct
 
20 competition with, a blind vendor may be deposited into the
 
21 revolving account and then disbursed to the blind vendor.
 
22      (c)  The revolving account shall consist of funds derived
 
23 from:
 

 
Page 6                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2559
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (1)  Vending [machine income generated by] operations on
 
 2           federal, state, and county [operations;] properties;
 
 3      (2)  Any other legally accepted source of income; and
 
 4      (3)  Donations[.];
 
 5 provided that, beginning on July 1, 2000, any moneys deposited in
 
 6 the revolving account that are derived from vending operations
 
 7 shall be identified as to whether the income is generated from
 
 8 federal, state, or county vending operations, and all moneys from
 
 9 federal vending operations shall be segregated into a federal
 
10 source subaccount and all other moneys shall be segregated into a
 
11 non-federal source subaccount that shall be expended for the
 
12 purpose of this section.
 
13      (d)   At the beginning of each fiscal year, if appropriated
 
14 by the legislature, the director of human services or the
 
15 director's designee shall transfer $30,000 from the non-federal
 
16 source subaccount to an interest-bearing account in a federally-
 
17 insured financial institution that shall be:
 
18      (1)  Selected by the state committee of blind vendors; and
 
19      (2)  In the name of the state committee of blind vendors.
 
20      The department of human services shall report to the
 
21 legislature no later than sixty days following the close of each
 
22 fiscal year on activities and current balance of the revolving
 
23 account.
 

 
Page 7                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2559
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (e)  The transfer of moneys under subsection (d) shall not
 
 2 affect the expenditure of funds from the revolving account by the
 
 3 department of human services."
 
 4      SECTION 5.  There is appropriated out of the non-federal
 
 5 source subaccount of the Randolph-Sheppard revolving account the
 
 6 sum of $30,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal
 
 7 year 2000-2001, to enable the director of human services to
 
 8 transfer the appropriate amount to the account of the blind
 
 9 vendors pursuant to section 347-12.5(d), Hawaii Revised Statutes,
 
10 for the uses listed in section 347-12.5(a), Hawaii Revised
 
11 Statutes.  Unexpended and unencumbered amounts on June 30 of each
 
12 fiscal year in the account of the blind vendors pursuant to
 
13 section 347-12.5(d), Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be returned
 
14 to the non-federal source subaccount of the Randolph-Sheppard
 
15 revolving account.
 
16      SECTION 6.  The sum appropriated shall be expended by the
 
17 department of human services.
 
18      SECTION 7.  If any provision of this Act or application
 
19 thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or
 
20 determined to be contrary to any federal law or regulation, the
 
21 invalidity or such determination shall not affect other
 
22 provisions or applications of the Act which can be given effect
 
23 without the provision or application held invalid or determined
 

 
Page 8                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2559
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 to be contrary to federal law or regulation, and to this end the
 
 2 provisions of this Act are severable.
 
 3      SECTION 8.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 4 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 5      SECTION 9.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval;
 
 6 provided that sections 5 and 6 shall take effect on July 1, 2000.
 
 7 
 
 8                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________