STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2665

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 164
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No.
164 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE III,
     SECTION 6, OF THE HAWAII CONSTITUTION, TO CHANGE THE
     ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE SENATE OR
     HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is
to propose an amendment to Article III, section 6, of the State
Constitution to require that, prior to filing nomination papers
for the primary election, a candidate for state legislative
office should be a qualified voter in the district that the
candidate seeks to represent.

     Your Committee finds that candidates presently have until
the day of the general election to qualify for office for a
particular district.  Your Committee further finds that requiring
candidates to establish residency before running in the primary
election will prevent candidates from waiting until after a
favorable primary result to move into the district.  Your
Committee believes this amendment will ensure that candidates for
legislative office are connected by residency to the communities
they wish to serve.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Office of Elections and the League of Women Voters of Hawaii.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2665
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     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by:

     (1)  Changing the deadline for a candidate to meet residency
          requirements to immediately prior to the primary
          election; and
     (2)  Making technical, non-substantive changes for the
          purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
164, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 164, S.D. 1, and
be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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