THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            174
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT A SUNRISE REVIEW OF THE
    REGULATION OF PROCESS SERVERS.



 1        WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that there is a need to
 2   re-examine the issue of regulating process servers; and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, "service of process" refers to the delivery of
 5   formal court documents to a person to give notice that a civil
 6   or criminal case has been filed against that person; and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, in 1989, the Legislature enacted Act 123,
 9   Relating to Service of Process, which required the issuance of
10   licenses to engage in business or serve in the capacity of a
11   process server; and
12   
13        WHEREAS, in 1991, the Legislature adopted Senate
14   Concurrent Resolution No. 42, requesting an after-the-fact
15   sunrise analysis of whether there was a reasonable need to
16   regulate process servers to protect the health, safety, and
17   welfare of the public; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, the Auditor subsequently concluded that the
20   public interest was best served by not regulating process
21   servers, noting that the federal government and most other
22   states did not regulate them; and
23   
24        WHEREAS, in concluding that a new regulatory program for
25   civil process servers was not warranted, the Auditor noted that
26   while delays in service of process can harm plaintiffs who seek
27   to obtain a judgment while the defendant still has assets, the
28   plaintiff's attorney is responsible for service; and
29   
30        WHEREAS, the Auditor further noted that while delays by
31   sheriffs in serving process had been alleged, the remedy for
32   this lies more in market competition than in licensing.
33   Moreover, while defendants could be harmed if the server
34   falsely claimed to have made the delivery, the Auditor found no
35   evidence that this was occurring; and
36   

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            174
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        WHEREAS, the Auditor recommended that chapter 634D, Hawaii
 2   Revised Statutes, relating to the licensing of civil process
 3   servers, be repealed, and that statutes and court rules be
 4   amended to follow Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil
 5   Procedure, which allows civil process to be served by any
 6   person not a party to the case who is at least eighteen years
 7   old; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, chapter 634D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, was
10   subsequently repealed by Act 9, Session Laws of Hawaii 1994,
11   and Rule 4(c)(1), Hawaii Rules of Civil Procedure, was
12   subsequently amended to follow federal rules; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that there is a need for
15   the Auditor to re-examine the issue of the regulation of
16   process servers to protect Hawaii's consumers, particularly
17   those who choose to proceed pro se, that is, without retaining
18   the services of an attorney, who may be at a disadvantage in
19   choosing process servers; and
20   
21        WHEREAS, Senate Bill No. 13 was introduced in the Senate
22   during the Regular Session of 1999 and was amended as a vehicle
23   to provide for the regulation of process servers as a
24   profession; and
25   
26        WHEREAS, section 26H-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires
27   that new regulatory measures that would subject unregulated
28   professions or vocations to licensing or other regulatory
29   controls are to be referred to the Auditor for analysis of the
30   probable effects of the proposed regulatory measure and an
31   assessment as to whether the enactment is consistent with the
32   policies set forth in section 26H-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
33   as well as an assessment of alternative forms of regulation;
34   now, therefore,
35   
36        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
37   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
38   Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is requested to
39   perform a sunrise review of the regulation of process servers
40   as provided for in Senate Bill No. 13, as introduced during the
41   Regular Session of 1999 and as subsequently amended; and
42   
43        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to
44   specifically analyze the following areas, in addition to any
45   other areas required by statute:
46   

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            174
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        (1)  The harm posed to consumers by the activities of
 2             civil process servers, particularly with respect to
 3             consumers who elect to proceed in litigation on a pro
 4             se basis;
 5   
 6        (2)  The benefits of limited regulation of process
 7             servers;
 8   
 9        (3)  A summary of existing law;
10   
11        (4)  The advantages and disadvantages of a federal
12             approach to serving process; and
13   
14        (5)  Any proposed legislation;
15   
16   and
17   
18        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to
19   submit findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later
20   than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session
21   of 2001; and
22   
23        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this
24   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor.
25 
26 
27 
28                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________