STAND. COM. REP. NO. 176

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 902
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No.
902 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RECORDS MANAGEMENT SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to allow the courts to assess a
$5 records management fee on all civil cases.

     Your Committee finds that newly filed legal documents create
2,000 cubic feet of additional court records each year, and the
Judiciary is required to store these documents, oftentimes until
perpetuity.  Your Committee further finds that the Judiciary
annually incurs approximately $84,000 in storage costs to rent
private storage facilities for these records.  Your Committee
believes that a $5 surcharge on the initial court filing will
provide much needed revenue to help defray the costs of
maintaining and storing these court documents.  Your Committee
acknowledges the Judiciary's efforts to identify additional
revenue sources to support court operating costs.

     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 S.B. No.
902 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to
the Committee on Ways and Means.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 176
                                   Page 2


                                   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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