STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2283

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2425
                                        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 S.B. No.
2425 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO APPOINTED COUNSEL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to set compensation for court
appointed counsel at the same level as that paid in Federal
District Court.

     Your Committee finds that current compensation levels for
court appointed counsel have not been changed since 1987.  Your
Committee further finds that current compensation levels are not
adequate to fairly recompense court appointed attorneys for their
time.  Your Committee believes that linking state compensation
levels to federal compensation levels for court appointed counsel
in Hawaii will help prevent a situation in which a deserved hike
in state compensation levels is overlooked year after year.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Judiciary and the Department of Budget and Finance.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by specifying that the federal court-appointed counsel
compensation level referred to is that of the District Court for
the District of Hawaii.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2283
                                   Page 2


Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No.
2425, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2425, S.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

                                   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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