STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2018

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2109
                                        S.D. 1




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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Water, Land, and Hawaiian Affairs, to
which was referred S.B. No. 2109 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAIIAN HOMES COMMISSION
     ACT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to enable the Department of
Hawaiian Home Lands to retain its own legal counsel.

     Testimony in support of the measure was received from the
Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the State Council of Hawaiian
Homestead Associations, and Ka Lahui Hawaii.  The Attorney
General's office testified in opposition to the measure.

     The Kawaihae Hawaiian Homes Community Association testified
that a review of the services provided by the Attorney General's
office to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands should be
conducted.

     The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands testified that the
measure is unnecessary, based on recent discussions with the
Attorney General's office in which the Attorney General assured
the Department that if the need arose, the Department of Hawaiian
Home Lands would be able to hire its own legal counsel.

     Your Committee finds that although assurances were made by
the Attorney General to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to
allow the Department to hire outside legal counsel, it is not

 
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convinced that such a prospect is enough to eliminate a perceived
conflict of interest on the part of the Attorney General.

     In light of this finding, your Committee believes it
necessary to provide the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands with
the authority to retain its own legal counsel when the need
arises.

     Your Committee has amended the measure by making a technical
amendment to correct a grammatical error.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Water, Land, and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached
to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of S.B. No. 2109, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B.
No. 2109, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Water, Land, and
                                   Hawaiian Affairs,



                                   ______________________________
                                   COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair

 
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