Abolishes the land court.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. Chapter 601, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§601-    Land court registration application; restriction. The land court shall not accept any new application for registration of title after the effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section, "new application" shall not include amended applications and applications related to land which was registered in land court or for which an application is pending as of the effective date of the Act. Any application still pending as of December 31, 2001, shall be treated as a quiet title action under applicable law.

§601-    Former land court property; adjudication. (a) The chief justice shall designate a judge of the circuit court of the first circuit to preside over all proceedings the judge of the abolished land court could or would have presided over. The judge shall act until a successor is similarly designated.

The chief justice shall designate another judge of the circuit court of the first circuit to preside over such proceedings in case of the disqualification, disability, or absence from the city and county of Honolulu of the first judge. In case of the disqualification, disability, or absence from the city and county of both such judges, the chief justice may designate some other circuit judge to preside over such proceedings during such disqualification, disability, or absence; provided that where both the first and second judges are disqualified, the chief justice immediately shall designate some other circuit judge to perform the first or second judge's duties.

(b) For purposes of this section and notwithstanding any law to the contrary:

SECTION 2. Section 46-132, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§46-132[]] Filing or recordation. The designated agency shall be responsible to file or record a copy of the development agreement or an amendment to such agreement [in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court of the State of Hawaii or] in the bureau of conveyances[, or both, whichever is appropriate,] within twenty days after the county enters into a development agreement or an amendment to such an agreement. The burdens of the agreement shall be binding upon, and the benefits of the agreement shall inure to, all successors in interest to the parties to the agreement."

SECTION 3. Section 53-60, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

"(d) Complaints or orders issued pursuant to an ordinance adopted under this section shall be served upon persons either personally or by registered mail, but if the whereabouts of the persons is unknown and the same cannot be ascertained by the public officer in the exercise of reasonable diligence, and the public officer makes an affidavit to that effect, then the serving of the complaint or order upon the persons may be made by publishing the same once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper printed and published in the county, or, in the absence of such newspaper, in one printed and published in the State and circulating in the county in which the dwellings are located. A copy of the complaint or order shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises affected by the complaint or order. A copy of the complaint or order shall also be filed with the registrar of conveyances [or, in the case of registered land (but excluding a leasehold time share interest), with the assistant registrar of the land court as provided in section 501-136,] and the filing of the complaint or order shall have the same force and effect as other lis pendens notices provided by law."

SECTION 4. Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2000, is amended by amending section 14 to read as follows:

"SECTION 14. Section 76-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§76-16 Civil service and exemptions. (a) The State Constitution mandates that the employment of persons in the civil service, as defined by law, be governed by the merit principle. The legislature declares that the public policy of the State is that all positions in the civil service systems of the respective jurisdictions shall be filled through civil service recruitment procedures based on merit and that the civil service system of the respective jurisdictions shall comprise all positions, whether permanent or temporary, in the jurisdiction now existing or hereafter established and embrace all personal services performed for the jurisdiction, except employees or positions exempted under this section, or sections 46-33 and 76-77.

(b) The civil service to which this chapter applies shall comprise all positions in the State now existing or hereafter established and embrace all personal services performed for the State, except the following:

The director shall determine the applicability of this section to specific positions.

Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the civil service status of any incumbent as it existed on July 1, 1955.

(c) No position shall be exempted from civil service recruitment procedures unless it is in accordance with this section. In addition to the exemptions under subsection (b), sections 46-33 and 76-77, or other law, the director may exempt additional positions if the reason for exempting the position is for the same reason as a position that is included in the list of exemptions for the respective jurisdiction.

(d) The director may provide for an exemption from civil service recruitment procedures if the appointment to the position has a limitation date and it would be impracticable to recruit under civil service recruitment procedures because the required probation period that is part of the examination process can not be completed by the limitation date. The rules shall not permit additional exemptions from civil service recruitment procedures for the same position when the position will be filled for a duration that would be sufficient to recruit under civil service recruitment procedures and allow for completion of the required probation period.

(e) It is also the public policy of the State that all civil service positions be covered under the classification systems of the jurisdictions, unless the position was exempted from the classification systems by law prior to the effective date of this Act or based on reasons set forth in rules. The rules may include reasons for a temporary exemption of a position, such as the establishment of a new class is pending, or for a permanent exemption when the establishment of a class is impracticable.

(f) The exemption of a position from the classification systems, whether temporary or permanent, or an appointment with a limitation date shall not itself result in an exemption from civil service recruitment procedures. Civil service recruitment procedures based on merit shall be followed for all positions unless exempted under subsection (b), (c), or (d). Applicants referred under civil service recruitment procedures shall be informed if the appointment has a limitation date or if the position is temporarily or permanently exempted from the classification systems.

(g) Each director shall be responsible for ensuring that all exemptions from civil service recruitment procedures or from the classification systems are consistent with this section. With respect to positions exempted under this section prior to the effective date of this Act by any other law, the director shall review these positions to determine whether the positions should continue to be exempt and if so, whether from civil service recruitment procedures or the classification systems, or both. If the director determines that a position should no longer be exempt from either or both based on the intent of this section, the director shall consult with the appropriate appointing authority and its chief executive on removing the exemptions. With the approval of the chief executive, the director shall take whatever action is necessary to remove the exemptions, including submittal of proposed legislation to remove the exemptions.

(h) The director shall establish rules to implement this section that shall be in accordance with the following:

(i) Employees in positions subject to civil service recruitment procedures shall be entitled to become and remain members of the civil service for the duration of their appointments as provided in section 76-27. Employees in positions exempted from civil service recruitment procedures shall not be entitled to membership in the civil service.

(j) Employees in positions that are exempted from the classification plan, whether temporarily or permanently, may be entitled to membership in the civil service as provided in subsection (i).""

SECTION 5. Section 92-28, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§92-28 State service fees; increase or decrease of. Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, the fees or other nontax revenues assessed or charged by any board, commission, or other governmental agency may be increased or decreased by the body in an amount not to exceed fifty per cent of the statutorily assessed fee or nontax revenue, in order to maintain a reasonable relation between the revenues derived from such fee or nontax revenue and the cost or value of services rendered, comparability among fees imposed by the State, or any other purpose which it may deem necessary and reasonable; provided that:

SECTION 6. Section 132-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§132-7 Duty of owner to remove fire hazard; expense; lien. If the owner or occupant, to whom the order is directed, fails to comply with the order, or with the order as modified on appeal, and within the time therein fixed, then the county fire chief may cause the buildings, structures, or premises to be repaired, torn down, demolished, materials removed, and all dangerous conditions remedied, as the case may be, at the expense of the owner or occupant, and, if the owner or occupant within thirty days thereafter fails, neglects, or refuses to pay the county fire chief the expense incurred thereby by the fire chief, the county shall have a prior lien for the expense on the real estate on which the buildings or structures were located, or on the premises involved, by the filing of a notice of lien in the bureau of conveyances [or in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court, or both, as appropriate]."

SECTION 7. Section 166-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§166-4 Park development. Except as herein provided, the department may develop, on behalf of the State or in partnership with a federal agency, a county, or a private party, agricultural parks which, at the option of the board, shall be exempt from all statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules of any governmental agency relating to planning, zoning, construction standards for subdivisions, development and improvement of land, and the construction of buildings thereon; provided that:

SECTION 8. Section 171-134, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) At the option of the board, the development of an industrial park shall be exempt from all statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules of any governmental agency relating to planning, zoning, construction standards for subdivision development and improvement of land, and the construction of buildings thereon; provided that:

SECTION 9. Section 181-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) Any unexpired permit shall be effective only so long as the operator possesses the legal right and power by legal estate owned to strip mine from the land described in the permit. All authority of the board of land and natural resources to enforce the requirements prescribed in section 181-6 shall terminate within ten years after the end of the permit year in which strip mining was completed or abandoned upon the land unless before the end of the period he has served upon the operator written directions to comply therewith. The board shall release from the effect of this chapter, either by reason of compliance or limitation of time, all or any part of the land affected by this chapter by filing in the bureau of conveyances of the State[, or in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court, or both, as appropriate,] a written release in form prepared by the board."

SECTION 10. Section 183-45, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§183-45 Accreted land. No structure, retaining wall, dredging, grading, or other use which interferes or may interfere with the future natural course of the beach, including further accretion or erosion, shall be permitted on accreted land as judicially decreed under section [501-33 or] 669-1(e). This section shall not in any way be construed to affect state or county property.

Any structure or action in violation of this section shall be immediately removed or stopped and the property owner shall be fined in accordance with section 183C-7. Any action taken to impose or collect the penalty provided for in this section shall be considered a civil action."

SECTION 11. Section 198-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§198-4[]] Recordation. Instruments creating, assigning, or otherwise transferring conservation easements shall be recorded in the bureau of conveyances, [or the land court, as the case may be,] and such instruments shall be subject in all respects to the requirements of [chapters 501 and] chapter 502."

SECTION 12. Section 201G-118, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) The corporation may develop, on behalf of the State or with an eligible developer, or may assist under a government assistance program in the development of, housing projects which shall be exempt from all statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules of any governmental agency relating to planning, zoning, construction standards for subdivisions, development and improvement of land, and the construction of units thereon; provided that:

SECTION 13. Section 206X-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§206X-6 Convention center district rules. The authority shall establish rules for the development within the convention center district under chapter 91 on health, safety, building, planning, zoning, land use, land development, and flood plain management, including mitigation and permitting, which, upon final approval by the authority of a convention center development plan, shall supersede all other inconsistent ordinances and rules relating to health, safety, building, planning, zoning, land use, land development, and flood plain management, including mitigation and permitting, and provision of access and utilities thereto. The convention center development plan approved by the authority shall be made a part of, and shall have the same force and effect as, the rules aforesaid. Rules adopted under this section shall follow existing law, rules, ordinances, and regulations as closely as is consistent with standards meeting minimum requirements of good design, pleasant amenities, health, safety, and coordinated development, and accomplishment of the purposes of this chapter.

For purposes of chapters [501,] 502[,] and 514A, the authority may certify maps and plans of lands and real property interests within the convention center district as having complied with applicable laws and ordinances relating to consolidation, subdivision of lands, and condominium property regimes, and such maps and plans shall be accepted for registration or recordation by the [land court and] registrar."

SECTION 14. Section 231-33, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (f) to read as follows:

"(f) The department may record in the bureau of conveyances at Honolulu, or in respect of a lien on a motor vehicle, file with the county director of finance, a certificate setting forth the amount of taxes due and unpaid, which have been returned, assessed, or as to which a notice of proposed assessment has issued. The certificate shall identify the taxpayer, the taxpayer's last known address, and the tax or taxes involved. The recording or filing of the certificate has the effect set forth in this section, but nothing in this section shall be deemed to require that a certificate recorded or filed by the department must include the amount of any penalty or interest, in order to protect the lien therefor. The certificate, if recorded or filed with the county director of finance, shall be entered of record as provided by law. [Recordation of the certificate in the bureau of conveyances shall be deemed, at such time, for all purposes and without any further action, to procure a lien on land registered in the land court under chapter 501.] Any cost incurred in the filing of the certificate shall be a part of the lien for the tax therein set forth."

SECTION 15. Section 231-61, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§231-61[]] Tax liens; co-owners' rights. (a) If a cotenancy exists and within the period of a tax lien, all of the taxes, interest, penalties, and other additions to the tax, due and delinquent at the time of payment, are paid by a cotenant, the cotenant shall have a lien in an amount equal to the amount paid by the cotenant on the interest of any noncontributing cotenant upon recording in the bureau of conveyances, within ninety days after the cotenant's payment, a sworn notice setting forth the amount claimed, a brief description of the land affected by tax key or otherwise, sufficient to identify the land, the taxes paid and the name of the cotenant upon whose interest the lien is asserted. When a notice of the tax lien is recorded by a cotenant, the registrar shall cause the tax lien to be indexed in the general indexes of the bureau of conveyances. [If the land affected is registered in the land court the notice shall also contain a reference to the number of the certificate of title of the land and shall be filed and registered in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court, and the registrar, in the registrar's capacity as assistant registrar of the land court, shall make a notation of the filing thereof on each land court certificate of title so specified.]

The cotenant's lien shall have the same priority as the lien or liens of the State for the taxes paid by the cotenant, and may be enforced by an action in the nature of a suit in equity. The lien shall continue for three years after recording [or registering], or until termination of the proceedings for enforcement thereof if such proceedings are begun and notice of the pendency thereof is recorded [or filed and registered] as provided by law, within the period.

(b) [The director or the director's subordinate, in case of a state tax lien, and the creditor cotenant, in case of a cotenant's lien, at the expense of the debtor, upon payment of the amount of the lien, shall execute and deliver to the debtor a sworn satisfaction thereof, including a reference to the name of the person assessed or cotenant affected as shown in the original notice, the date of filing of the original notice, a description of the land involved, and the number of the certificate of title of the land if registered in the land court.] When recorded in the bureau of conveyances [or filed and registered in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court], in the case of a cotenant's lien, which contains the reference to the book and page of the original lien, the sworn satisfaction shall be entered in the general indexes of the bureau of conveyances[, and if a notation of the original notice was made on any land court certificate of title the filing of the satisfaction shall also be noted on the certificate].

This section as to cotenancy shall apply, as well, in any case of ownership by more than one assessable person."

SECTION 16. Section 231-65, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§231-65[]] Tax liens; notice, form of. The notice of sale shall contain the names of the persons assessed, the names of the present owners (so far as shown by the records of the tax office [and the records, if any, in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court]), the character and amount of the tax, and the tax year or years, with interest, penalties, costs, expenses, and charges accrued or to accrue to the date appointed for the sale, a brief description of the property to be sold, and the time and place of sale, and shall warn the persons assessed, and all persons having or claiming to have any mortgage or other lien thereon or any legal or equitable right, title, or other interest in the property, that unless the tax, with all interest, penalties, costs, expenses, and charges accrued to the date of payment, is paid before the time of sale appointed, the property advertised for sale will be sold as advertised. The state tax collector may include in one advertisement of notice of sale notice of foreclosure upon more than one parcel of real property, whether or not owned by the same person and whether or not the liens are for the same tax year or years."

SECTION 17. Section 231-68, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§231-68[]] Tax liens; costs. The director of taxation by rule may prescribe a schedule of costs, expenses, and charges and the manner in which they shall be apportioned between the various properties offered for sale and the time at which each cost, expense, or charge is deemed to accrue. The costs, expenses, and charges shall be added to and become a part of the tax lien on the property for the last year involved in the sale or proposed sale, the tax for which is delinquent. The costs, expenses, and charges may include provision for the making of and the securing of certificates of searches of any records to furnish information to be used in or in connection with the notice of sale or tax deed, or in any case where the director deems it advisable; provided that the state tax collector shall not be required to make such searches or to cause them to be made except as provided by section 231-64 with respect to mortgages [or other liens registered in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court]."

SECTION 18. Section 232-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§232-9 Clerk; reporter; custody of records. [The clerk of the land court shall be ex officio the clerk of the tax appeal court and shall serve as such without additional compensation.] Whenever necessary, the court may engage the services of a clerk who shall serve as the clerk of the tax appeal court. The clerk shall record all the proceedings of the court and perform, on its behalf, any routine duties which it may assign to the clerk. Upon the entry of any written order of the court, the clerk shall immediately send a copy thereof to all interested parties and to the department of taxation which shall forthwith correct the assessment list to conform thereto. All records of the court shall be kept in the office of the clerk. Any assistant to the clerk may act in the place of the clerk.

Whenever necessary the court shall engage the services of a reporter who shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by it. The office of the court shall be in the judiciary building, at Honolulu, but it may sit at such other places as it may deem necessary."

SECTION 19. Section 236D-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Unless any estate tax due is sooner paid in full, it shall be a lien upon the gross estate of the decedent for a period of ten years from the date of death, except that such part of the gross estate as is used for the payment of charges against the estate and expenses of its administration, allowed by any court having jurisdiction thereof, shall be divested of the lien. Liens created under this subsection shall be qualified as follows:

SECTION 20. Section 246-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§246-4 Assessment of property; to whom in general. (a) Real property shall be assessed in its entirety to the owner thereof; provided that where improved residential land has been leased for a term of fifteen years or more, the real property shall be assessed in its entirety to the lessee or the lessee's successor in interest holding the land for such term under such lease and the lessee or successor in interest shall be deemed the owner of the real property in its entirety for the purposes of this chapter; provided, however, that the lease and any extension, renewal, assignment, or agreement to assign the lease:

"Improved residential land" as used herein means land improved with a single family dwelling on it.

(b) For the purposes of this chapter, life tenants, personal representatives, trustees, guardians, or other fiduciaries may be, and persons holding government property under an agreement for the conveyance of the same to such persons shall be considered as owners during the time any real property is held or controlled by them as such. Lessees holding under any government lease shall be considered as owners during the time any real property is held or controlled by them as such, as more fully provided in section 246-36; and further, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this chapter, any tenant occupying government land, whether such occupancy be on a permit, license, month to month tenancy, or otherwise, shall be considered as owner where such occupancy has continued for a period of one year or more, as more fully provided in section 246-36. Persons holding any real property under an agreement to purchase the same[,] shall be considered as owners during the time the real property is held or controlled by them as such; provided that the agreement to purchase:

(c) Persons holding any real property under a lease for a term to last during the lifetime of the lessee, shall be considered as owners during the time the real property is held or controlled by them as such; provided that the lease:

SECTION 21. Section 246-39.1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) Notwithstanding any provision in this chapter to the contrary, any real property exempt from property taxes under section 246-39 shall be exempt from property taxes from the date the property is qualified for the exemption; provided that a claim for exemption is filed with the assessor within sixty days of the qualification. As used herein, the date of the qualification shall be the date when the mortgage made by a nonprofit or limited distribution mortgagor and insured under [sections] section 202, 221(d)(3), or 236 of the National Housing Act is filed for recording with the registrar of the bureau of conveyances or was filed for recording with the assistant registrar of the former land court of the State, pursuant to former chapter 501, whichever is applicable; provided that in the case of a mortgage made by a nonprofit or limited distribution mortgagor and filed or recorded with the registrar of the bureau of conveyances or the assistant registrar of the former land court of the State pursuant to former chapter 501, prior to July 1, 1972, the date of qualification shall be July 1, 1972."

SECTION 22. Section 246-55, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (b) and (c) to read as follows:

"(b) In case of cotenancy, if one cotenant pays, within the period of the aforesaid government lien, all of the real property taxes, interest, penalties, and other additions to the tax, due and delinquent at the time of payment, the cotenant shall have, pro tanto, a lien on the interest of any noncontributing cotenant upon recording in the bureau of conveyances, within ninety days after the payment so made by the cotenant, a sworn notice setting forth the amount claimed, a brief description of the land affected by tax key or otherwise, sufficient to identify it, the tax year or years, and the name of the cotenant upon whose interest such lien is asserted. When a notice of such tax lien is recorded by a cotenant, the registrar shall forthwith cause the same to be indexed in the general indexes of the bureau of conveyances. [In case the land affected is registered in the land court and is not a leasehold time share interest as described in section 501-20, the notice shall also contain a reference to the number of the certificate of title of such land and shall be filed and registered in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court, and the registrar, in the registrar's capacity as assistant registrar of the land court, shall make a notation of the filing thereof on each land court certificate of title so specified.]

The cotenant's lien shall have the same priority as the lien or liens of the government for the taxes paid by the cotenant, and may be enforced by an action in the nature of a suit in equity. The lien shall continue for three years after recording [or registering], or until termination of the proceedings for enforcement thereof if such proceedings are begun and notice of the pendency thereof is recorded [or filed and registered] as provided by law, within the period.

(c) The director or the director's subordinate, in case of a government lien, and the creditor cotenant, in case of a cotenant's lien, at the expense of the debtor, upon payment of the amount of the lien, shall execute and deliver to the debtor a sworn satisfaction thereof, including a reference to the name of the person assessed or cotenant affected as shown in the original notice, the date of filing of the original notice, a description of the land involved and[, except with respect to a leasehold time share interest as described in section 501-20, the number of the certificate of title of such land if registered in the land court,] which, when recorded in the bureau of conveyances [or filed and registered in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court,], in the case of a cotenant's lien, which contains the reference to the book and page or document number of the original lien, shall be entered in the general indexes of the bureau of conveyances[, and if a notation of the original notice was made on any land court certificate of title the filing of such satisfaction shall also be noted on the certificate].

This section as to cotenancy shall apply, as well, in any case of ownership by more than one assessable person."

SECTION 23. Section 246-57, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§246-57 Same; registered land. If the land [has been] was registered in the former land court as of December 1, 2001, the tax collector shall also send by registered mail a notice of the proposed sale to any person holding a mortgage or other lien registered in the office of the assistant registrar of the former land court. The notice shall be sent to any such person at the person's last address as of December 31, 2001, as shown by the records in the office of the registrar, and shall be deposited in the mail at least forty-five days prior to the date set for the sale."

SECTION 24. Section 246-58, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§246-58 Same; notice, form of. The notice of sale shall contain the names of the persons assessed, the names of the present owners (so far as shown by the records of the tax office [and the records, if any, in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court]), the character and amount of the tax, and the tax year or years, with interest, penalties, costs, expenses, and charges accrued or to accrue to the date appointed for the sale, a brief description of the property to be sold, and the time and place of sale, and shall warn the persons assessed, and all persons having or claiming to have any mortgage or other lien thereon or any legal or equitable right, title, or other interest in the property, that unless the tax, with all interest, penalties, costs, expenses, and charges accrued to the date of payment, is paid before the time of sale appointed, the property advertised for sale will be sold as advertised. The tax collector may include in one advertisement of notice of sale notice of foreclosure upon more than one parcel of real property, whether or not owned by the same person and whether or not the liens are for the same tax year or years."

SECTION 25. Section 246-61, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§246-61 Same; costs. The director of taxation by regulation may prescribe a schedule of costs, expenses, and charges and the manner in which they shall be apportioned between the various properties offered for sale and the time at which each cost, expense, or charge shall be deemed to accrue; and such costs, expenses, and charges shall be added to and become a part of the lien on the property for the last year involved in the sale or proposed sale, the tax for which is delinquent. Such costs, expenses, and charges may include provision for the making of and the securing of certificates of searches of any records to furnish information to be used in or in connection with the notice of sale or tax deed, or in any case where the director shall deem such advisable; provided that the tax collector shall not be required to make such searches or to cause them to be made except as provided by section 246-57 with respect to mortgages or other liens which were registered as of December 31, 2001, in the office of the assistant registrar of the former land court."

SECTION 26. Section 247-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§247-5 Imprinting of seal. The tax shall be evidenced as paid by the imprinting of an appropriate seal or seals on the document or instrument, which imprinting or seal itself shall indicate on its face the amount of the tax paid. The seal or seals shall be so imprinted upon the payment of the tax, together with the appropriate penalty and interest where applicable, and, in any event, prior to the recordation [or filing] of the document or instrument with the registrar of conveyances [or the assistant registrar of the land court].

For the purposes of this chapter, the director may require that the documents or instruments be brought to any of the various offices of the department of taxation for an examination of the instrument or document, or for the purpose of having the seal imprinted on the document or instrument."

SECTION 27. Section 247-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsection (b) to read:

"(b) No certificate is required to be filed for any document or instrument made exempt by section 247-3, except that in the following situations, a certificate shall be filed in the manner and place which the director shall prescribe, within ninety days after the transaction or prior to the recordation [or filing] of the document or instrument with the registrar of conveyances [or the assistant registrar of the land court] or after such period[,] or recordation[, or filing] as the director shall prescribe:

"(e) No document or instrument, on account of which a certificate is required to be filed with the office of the director under this section, shall be accepted for recordation [or filing] with the registrar of conveyances [or the assistant registrar of the land court,] unless the certificate has been duly filed."

SECTION 28. Section 346-29.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) The agreement in subsection (a) shall be recorded in the bureau of conveyances[, or filed in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court]. When the agreement for the lien is recorded in the bureau of conveyances, the registrar shall [forthwith] immediately cause the same to be indexed in the general indexes of the bureau of conveyances. From and after the recording in the bureau of conveyances the lien shall attach to all interests in real property then owned by the person and not registered in the land court, and from and after the filing thereof in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court the lien shall attach to any such interest in land then registered therein. The lien shall be for all amounts of assistance, unless otherwise provided by rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91, then or thereafter paid in accordance with the programs from which the person receives assistance. The department shall be obligated to annually update the actual amount of the lien recorded in the bureau of conveyances."

SECTION 29. Section 431P-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) The hurricane reserve trust fund shall receive deposits of the special mortgage recording fee established by this chapter. The special mortgage recording fee shall be imposed on each mortgage and each amendment to a mortgage which, in each case, increases the principal amount of the secured debt and which is recorded in the bureau of conveyances of the State under chapter 502 [or filed with the assistant registrar of the land court of the State under chapter 501].

The special mortgage recording fee shall be an amount equal to one-tenth of one per cent of the stated principal amount of the debt secured by the mortgage or, in the case of an amendment or refinancing of a mortgage, an amount equal to one-tenth of one per cent of the amount of the increase of the stated principal amount of the secured debt; provided that the board may establish a lower special mortgage recording fee amount pursuant to section 431P-5(b)(14). With respect to an open end revolving loan, the principal amount of the debt on which the special mortgage recording fee is calculated shall be the maximum amount which may be outstanding under the loan at any one time. With respect to a mortgage securing a nonmonetary or inchoate obligation, the principal amount of the debt on which the special mortgage recording fee is calculated shall be the monetary amount which the mortgagee attributes to the obligation. If the debt is stated in a foreign currency, it shall be converted to U.S. dollars using an exchange rate published in a newspaper of general circulation in this State within one week prior to recordation of the mortgage or amendment of mortgage.

The special mortgage recording fee shall be in addition to any applicable fees under chapter [501 or] 502. The special mortgage recording fee shall be submitted to and collected by the bureau of conveyances [or the assistant registrar of the land court of the State] and shall be deposited into the hurricane reserve trust fund. The special mortgage recording fee shall be submitted at the time the mortgage or amendment of mortgage is recorded together with any related forms or certifications required by the bureau of conveyances or the assistant registrar of the land court of the State."

SECTION 30. Section 441-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§441-2 Certificate of dedication. Every cemetery authority from time to time as its property may hereafter be made available for cemetery purposes, shall file in the office of the bureau of conveyances [or, in the case of registered land, in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court,] a written certificate of dedication containing a description of the land or other property which is to be made available for cemetery purposes, and dedicating the property exclusively to cemetery purposes."

SECTION 31. Section 441-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§441-3 Map or plat required. The cemetery authority from time to time as any of the property described in the certificate of dedication, or any part or section thereof, is offered for sale, transfer, or disposition in the form of plots, crypts, or niches, shall also:

The map or plat shall also be filed in the office of the bureau of conveyances [or the office of the assistant registrar of the land court]."

SECTION 32. Section 441-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§441-4 Subdivision law not applicable; approval of location and boundaries by council. No provision of law, ordinance, or government regulation relating generally to subdivisions[,] or the sale or transfer of land within subdivisions, shall be applicable to cemeteries. Each county may enact ordinances dealing separately with the development of cemeteries. No cemetery shall hereafter be established, nor shall the boundaries of any existing cemetery be extended, without the location and boundaries of the cemetery or extension thereof having first been approved by the council of the county in which the cemetery is located. The approval may be endorsed in writing by authority of the council, upon the certificate of dedication referred to in section 441-2[, and the]. The registrar of conveyances [or the assistant registrar of the land court,] shall not accept for filing any certificate of dedication without such endorsement or, in lieu thereof, a certified copy of a resolution of the council approving the location and boundaries of the cemetery or extension thereof which resolution shall be recorded."

SECTION 33. Section 441-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§441-15 Removal of dedication. Property dedicated to cemetery purposes shall be held and used exclusively for cemetery purposes unless and until the dedication is removed from all or any part of it by an order and decree of the circuit court of the judicial circuit in which the property is located and the decree is filed in the bureau of conveyances [or land court] in a proceeding brought by the cemetery authority for that purpose and upon notice of hearing and proof satisfactory to the court:

SECTION 34. Section 441-17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§441-17 Existing cemeteries deemed dedicated; extension of existing cemeteries. All existing cemeteries or parts thereof which shall have been lawfully established, and for which a map or plat substantially similar to that required by section 441-3 has been [filed or] recorded in the bureau of conveyances [or in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court], shall be deemed to have been dedicated as of [[]July 1, 1967[]], to the same extent and with like effect as provided in this chapter."

SECTION 35. Section 464-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§464-11 Contents of certificates; use of seal mandatory when. Each certificate of licensure issued hereunder shall bear the date of the original license and shall specify whether the person to whom it is issued is authorized by the board to practice professional engineering, architecture, land surveying or landscape architecture.

In the case of a certificate issued to a person authorizing the person to practice professional engineering, the certificate shall furthermore indicate the major branch or branches of engineering in which the person has especially qualified.

Every licensee may use a seal or rubber stamp of the design authorized by the board bearing the licensee's name and the words "licensed professional engineer", "licensed architect", "licensed land surveyor", or "licensed landscape architect", or otherwise as may be authorized by the board.

All plans, specifications, maps, and reports prepared by or under the supervision of a licensed engineer, architect, surveyor, or landscape architect shall be stamped with such seal or stamp when filed with public officials. It shall be unlawful for anyone to seal or stamp any document with such seal or stamp after the license has expired or has been revoked or suspended unless such license has been renewed or reissued.

No official of the State nor of any political subdivision thereof, charged with the enforcement of laws or ordinances relating to the construction or alteration of buildings or structures, shall accept or approve any plans or specifications that are not stamped with the seal of a licensed architect or with the seal of a licensed engineer who has qualified in the structural engineering branch, unless the building or structure, for which the plans or specifications are submitted is exempted from this chapter[, and no map or survey shall be filed in the land court unless stamped with the seal of a licensed land surveyor]."

SECTION 36. Section 502-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§502-23 Sale or lease by reference to lots or blocks without filing of plans; penalty. Whoever lays out or subdivides a tract of land into lots or blocks and sells by lot number or block number or leases by lot number or block number any lot or block in any subdivision without first having filed in the bureau of conveyances a plan thereof, drawn in accordance with sections 502-17 to 502-22, or whoever sells by lot number or block number or leases by lot number or block number any lot or block in any subdivision, the plan of which subdivision is not on record or on file in the bureau of conveyances shall be fined not more than $50 for each lot or block or part thereof so sold or leased. [This section and section 502-24 shall not apply to land held under chapter 501.]"

SECTION 37. Section 502-50, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§502-50 How made; proof if not made. (a) Except as otherwise provided, to entitle any conveyance or other instrument to be recorded, it shall be acknowledged by the person or persons executing the same, before the registrar of conveyances, or the registrar's deputy or before a judge of a court of record or a notary public of the State. If any person having executed an instrument within the State, dies, or departs from the State, without having acknowledged the instrument, or refuses to acknowledge it, or if the person has acknowledged it but such acknowledgment has not been duly certified by the officer before whom made and for any reason neither proper certification nor a new acknowledgment can be secured, the instrument may be entered as of record on proof of its execution by a subscribing witness thereto before [the judge of the land court or] a judge of a circuit court of the State. If all the subscribing witnesses to the conveyance or other instrument are dead or out of the State, the same may be proved before any court in the State by proving the handwriting of the person executing the same and any subscribing witness. For the purposes of this section a notary public or person who wrongfully undertakes to act as such, may be deemed a subscribing witness.

(b) If there is any interlineation, erasure, or other change in an instrument, not initialed as required by section 502-61, and for any reason compliance with section 502-61 cannot be secured, the instrument may be proved as provided in subsection (c), or, without the bringing of the proceeding [therein] provided for[, the judge of the land court or] in subsection (c), a judge of a circuit court may certify that the instrument is entitled to be recorded, if it is established to the judge's satisfaction that such change was made before execution of the instrument, and the instrument [thereupon] immediately shall be received for record notwithstanding section 502-63. If the record of any such instrument, received for record by reason of such certificate, or a transcript thereof, is used in evidence in any proceeding, the burden shall be on the party relying on such record to prove that such change was made before execution of the instrument, in any proceeding where such fact is asserted by the party and is in dispute.

(c) Any person interested under an instrument which if properly proved or acknowledged would be entitled to record, may institute a proceeding against the proper parties to obtain a judgment proving such instrument. The proceeding shall be brought in a circuit court [or the land court]. If the instrument affects the title to real property the proceeding shall be brought in the judicial circuit where the property is located. If judgment is obtained a certified copy thereof shall be appended to the instrument."

SECTION 38. Section 504-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§504-1 Registration of federal judgments. Judgments of United States courts may be [registered,] recorded, docketed, and indexed in the bureau of conveyances [or with the assistant registrar of the land court] in the same manner as judgments of the courts of the State. Except as otherwise provided, every judgment shall contain or have endorsed on it the social security number, State of Hawaii general excise taxpayer identification number, or federal employer identification number for persons, corporations, partnerships, or other entities against whom the judgment is rendered. If the judgment debtor has no social security number, State of Hawaii general excise taxpayer identification number, or federal employer identification number, or if that information is not in the possession of the party seeking the [registration,] recordation, docketing, or indexing of the judgment, the judgment shall be accompanied by a certificate that provides that the information does not exist or is not in the possession of the party seeking [registration,] recordation, docketing, or indexing of the judgment. Failure to disclose or disclosure of an incorrect social security number, State of Hawaii general excise taxpayer identification number, or federal employer identification number shall not in any way adversely affect or impair the lien created upon the [registration,] recordation, docketing, or indexing of the judgment."

SECTION 39. Section 506-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§506-8 Release of mortgages of real property or fixtures. The mortgagee of real property or the record assignee of a mortgage interest shall provide to the mortgagor a release of mortgage upon full satisfaction of the mortgage and discharge of any secured debt. The instrument shall be duly acknowledged, shall sufficiently describe the mortgage that has been satisfied, and be recordable in the bureau of conveyances or office of the assistant registrar of the land court, or both, as appropriate. If the mortgagee or record assignee fails to provide a release of the mortgage as required by this section within sixty days from the date of a request made in writing by any party in interest, and sent by certified or registered mail to the mortgagee or record assignee at its last known address, then:

SECTION 40. Section 507-43, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Time for filing. The Application and Notice shall be filed not later than forty-five days after the date of completion of the improvement against which it is filed. [Where title to the property involved, or any portion thereof, is registered in the land court and the lien is not claimed solely against the lessees' interest in one or more leasehold time share interests as described in section 501-20, it shall be incumbent upon the lienor to file a certified copy of the Order Directing Lien To Attach in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court within seven days after the entry thereof in order to preserve the lienor's rights against subsequent encumbrancers and purchasers of the property.]"

SECTION 41. Section 507-45, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§507-45 Discharge of lien. Any mechanics' and materialmen's lien may be discharged at any time by the owner, lessee, principal contractor or intermediate subcontractor filing with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the property is located [or with the assistant registrar of the land court (if registered land is affected except when the lien attaches solely to the interest of the lessees in one or more leasehold time share interests as described in section 501-20),] cash or a bond for twice the amount of the sum for which the claim for the lien is filed, conditioned for the payment of any sum for which the claimant may obtain judgment upon the claimant's claim."

SECTION 42. Section 507-46, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§507-46 Priority, record of; satisfaction. The lien shall relate to and take effect from the time of the visible commencement of operations for the improvement; it shall rank equally in priority subject to the provisos hereinafter contained with all other mechanics' and materialmen's liens and shall have priority over all other liens of any nature, except liens in favor of any branch of the government and mortgages, liens or judgments recorded or filed prior to the time of the visible commencement of operation; provided that all liens for wages for labor performed in the completion of the improvement, but not exceeding $300 for each claimant, shall have priority as a class over all other mechanics' and materialmen's liens where claims are filed by:

and provided further that where a mortgage is recorded prior to the date of completion, and all or a portion of the money advanced under and secured by the mortgage is thereafter used for the purpose of paying for the improvement, the mortgagee shall be entitled, to the extent of the payments, to priority over liens of mechanics and materialmen, but no such priority shall be allowed unless the mortgage recites that the purpose of the mortgage is to secure the moneys advanced for the purpose of paying for the improvement in whole or in part. Payments made in good faith to the general contractor for such purposes shall be presumed to have been used for the purpose of paying for the improvement. Whenever the lien or claim of lien herein provided is satisfied (other than by the limitations expressed in section 507-43), a written notice thereof shall, at the expense of the lienee, be filed with the clerk of the circuit court, which shall be noted in the mechanics' lien record[, and if title to the land involved is registered in the land court and the lien did not attach solely to the interest of the lessee in one or more leasehold time share interests, it shall also be filed in the office of the assistant registrar of the court]."

SECTION 43. Section 514A-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§514A-2 Chapter not exclusive. This chapter is in addition and supplemental to all other provisions of the Revised Statutes; provided that [this chapter shall not change the substantive law relating to land court property, and provided further that] if this chapter conflicts with [chapters] chapter [501 and] 502, [chapters 501 and] chapter 502 shall prevail."

SECTION 44. Section 514A-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending the definition of "apartment owner" to read:

""Apartment owner" means the person owning, or the persons owning jointly or in common, an apartment and the common interest appertaining thereto; provided that to such extent and for such purposes, including the exercise of voting rights, as shall be provided by lease [registered under chapter 501 or] recorded under chapter 502, a lessee of an apartment shall be deemed to be the owner thereof."

2. By amending the definition of "to record" to read:

""To record" means to record in accordance with chapter 502[, or to register in accordance with chapter 501]."

SECTION 45. Section 514A-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§514A-11 Recordation and contents of declaration. The bureau of conveyances [and the land court] shall immediately set up the mechanics and method by which recordation of a master deed or lease and the declaration may be made. Provisions shall be made for the recordation of instruments affecting the individual apartments on subsequent resales, mortgages, and other encumbrances, as is done with all other real estate recordations[; provided that land court certificates of title shall not be issued for apartments]. The declaration to which section 514A-20 refers shall express the following particulars:

SECTION 46. Section 514A-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§514A-19 Merger of increments. [(a)] Two or more condominium projects, whether or not adjacent to one another, but which are part of the same incremental plan of development and in the same vicinity, may be merged together so as to permit the joint use of the common elements of the projects by all the owners of the apartments in the merged projects. The merger documents may provide for a single association of apartment owners and board of directors for the merged projects and for a sharing of the common expenses of the projects among all the owners of the apartments in the merged projects.

[(b) Upon the recording in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court of the State of Hawaii of a certificate of merger that indicates that the fee simple title to the lands of the merged projects are merged, the assistant registrar shall cancel all existing certificates of title for the apartments in the condominium projects being merged and shall issue new certificates of title for the apartments in the merged project, covering all of the land of the merged condominium projects. The new certificates of title for the apartments in the merged condominium project shall describe, among other things, the new undivided interest in the land appertaining to each apartment in the merged condominium projects. The certificate of merger shall at least set forth all of the apartments of the merged condominium projects, their new undivided interest, and their current certificate of title numbers in the common elements of the merged condominium projects.]"

SECTION 47. Section 514A-82, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), the bylaws shall be consistent with the following provisions:

The provisions of this subsection shall be deemed incorporated into the bylaws of all condominium projects existing as of January 1, 1988, and all condominium projects created after that date."

SECTION 48. Section 514A-83, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§514A-83 Purchaser's right to vote. The purchaser of an apartment pursuant to an agreement of sale recorded in the bureau of conveyances [or land court] shall have all the rights of an apartment owner, including the right to vote; provided that the seller may retain the right to vote on matters substantially affecting the seller's security interest in the apartment, including but not limited to, the right to vote on:

SECTION 49. Section 514E-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "record, recorded, etc." to read:

""Record, recorded, etc." means to record in accordance with chapter 502[, or to register in accordance with chapter 501]."

SECTION 50. Section 531-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§531-15 Determination of bar to dower or curtesy. The bar to dower and curtesy or to rights by way of dower or curtesy provided by the second paragraph of sections 533-9 and 533-16, respectively, shall not operate except upon determination by order of a court of probate in proceedings for the administration of the estate, or by a court in proceedings for the determination of heirs, of the deceased spouse, and then only if claim of bar is made by a person claiming the estate, or any part thereof, or any interest therein. The spouse sought to be barred shall be notified of the claim and of the hearing thereon either by personal service or by publication of the notice thereof, in the manner provided for, and which may be included in, notice of determination of heirs or devisees or by both such personal and published service, as the court may direct. The order of determination shall be conclusive as to the rights of the surviving spouse, subject only to be reversed, set aside or modified on appeal. A certified copy of the order shall be recorded in the bureau of conveyances, in case the title to land is involved[, and if the land affected has been registered in the land court, a like copy shall be filed in the office of the assistant registrar of the court unless the interest of the deceased spouse in such land consists solely of one or more leasehold time share interests as described in section 501-20]."

SECTION 51. Section 558-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§558-3[]] Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Recorded instrument" means any conveyance, deed, mortgage, lease assignment, or other instrument relating to this chapter and duly executed and recorded with the bureau of conveyances [or the land court] of the State."

SECTION 52. Section 576D-10.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) The child support order or judgment filed through judicial or administrative proceedings in this State or any other state shall be recorded in the bureau of conveyances. [The recordation of the order or judgment in the bureau of conveyances shall be deemed, at such time, for all purposes and without any further action, to procure a lien on land registered in the land court under chapter 501.] The lien shall become effective when it arises under [subsections] subsection (a) or (b) and shall attach to all interests in real or personal property then owned or subsequently acquired by the obligor including any interests not recorded with the bureau of conveyances [or filed in the land court]."

SECTION 53. Section 634-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§634-51 Recording of notice of pendency of action. In any action concerning real property or affecting the title or the right of possession of real property, the plaintiff, at the time of filing the complaint, and any other party at the time of filing a pleading in which affirmative relief is claimed, or at any time afterwards, may record in the bureau of conveyances a notice of the pendency of the action, containing the names or designations of the parties, as set out in the summons or pleading, the object of the action or claim for affirmative relief, and a description of the property affected thereby. From and after the time of recording the notice, a person who becomes a purchaser or incumbrancer of the property affected shall be deemed to have constructive notice of the pendency of the action and be bound by any judgment entered therein if the person claims through a party to the action[; provided that in the case of registered land, section 501-151 and sections 501-241 to 501-248 shall govern].

This section authorizes the recording of a notice of the pendency of an action in a United States District Court, as well as a state court."

SECTION 54. Section 636-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§636-3 Judgment, lien when. Any money judgment or decree of a state court or the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii shall be a lien upon real property when a copy thereof, certified as correct by a clerk of the court where it is entered, is recorded in the bureau of conveyances. No such lien shall continue beyond ten years after the date of the judgment. Except as otherwise provided, every judgment shall contain or have endorsed on it the social security number, State of Hawaii general excise taxpayer identification number, or federal employer identification number for persons, corporations, partnerships, or other entities against whom the judgment is rendered. If the judgment debtor has no social security number, State of Hawaii general excise taxpayer identification number, or federal employer identification number, or if that information is not in the possession of the party seeking registration of the judgment, the judgment shall be accompanied by a certificate that provides that the information does not exist or is not in the possession of the party seeking recordation of the judgment. Failure to disclose or disclosure of an incorrect social security number, State of Hawaii general excise taxpayer identification number, or federal employer identification number shall not in any way adversely affect or impair the lien created upon recordation of the judgment. When any such judgment is fully paid, the creditor or the creditor's attorney of record in the action shall, at the expense of the debtor, execute, acknowledge, and deliver to the debtor a satisfaction thereof, which may be recorded in the bureau. Every satisfaction or assignment of judgment shall contain a reference to the book and page or document number of the registration of the original judgment. The recording fees for a judgment and for each assignment or satisfaction of judgment shall be as provided by section 502-25.

[In the case of registered land, section 501-102 and sections 501-241 to 501-248 shall govern.]"

SECTION 55. Section 641-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§641-2[]] Review on and disposition of appeal. In case of appeal to the supreme court from a judgment, order, or decree of a circuit or district court, or the land court, in a civil matter, the supreme court shall have power to review, reverse, affirm, amend, or modify such judgment, order, or decree in whole or in part, and as to any or all of the parties. It may enter an amended or modified judgment, order, or decree, or may remand the case to the trial court, or, where the trial court was the former land court, to the circuit court of the first circuit, for the entry of the same or for other or further proceedings, as in its opinion the facts and law warrant. Any judgment, order or decree entered by the supreme court may be enforced by it or remitted for enforcement by the trial court.

Every appeal shall be taken on the record and no new evidence shall be introduced in the supreme court. The supreme court may correct any error appearing on the record, but need not consider a point which was not presented in the trial court in an appropriate manner. No judgment, order or decree shall be reversed, amended or modified for any error or defect unless the court is of the opinion that it has injuriously affected the substantial rights of the appellant."

SECTION 56. Section 664-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§664-1 Judges as commissioners. The circuit judges of the second, third, and fifth judicial circuits of the State for their respective circuits, and the judge [of the land court,] designated pursuant to section 601-B for the first judicial circuit, sitting without a jury, shall act as commissioners of boundaries."

SECTION 57. Section 667-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§667-5 Foreclosure under power of sale; notice; affidavit after sale. When a power of sale is contained in a mortgage, the mortgagee, or the mortgagee's successor in interest, or any person authorized by the power to act in the premises, may, upon a breach of the condition, give notice of the mortgagee's, successor's, or person's intention to foreclose the mortgage and of the sale of the mortgaged property, by publication of the notice once in each of three successive weeks (three publications), the last publication to be not less than fourteen days before the day of sale, in a newspaper having a general circulation in the county in which the mortgaged property lies; and also give such notices and do all such acts as are authorized or required by the power contained in the mortgage. Copies of the notice shall be filed with the state director of taxation and shall be posted on the premises not less than twenty-one days before the day of sale.

Any sale, of which notice has been given as aforesaid, may be postponed from time to time by public announcement made by the mortgagee or by some person acting on the mortgagee's behalf. The mortgagee shall, within thirty days after selling the property in pursuance of the power, file a copy of the notice of sale and the mortgagee's affidavit, setting forth the mortgagee's acts in the premises fully and particularly, in the bureau of conveyances.

The affidavit and copy of the notice shall be recorded and indexed by the registrar, in the manner provided in chapter [501 or] 502[, as the case may be].

This section is inapplicable if the mortgagee is foreclosing as to personal property only."

SECTION 58. Section 667-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§667-6 Notice to mortgage creditors. Whenever a mortgage creditor having a mortgage lien on certain premises desires notice that another mortgage creditor having a mortgage lien on the same premises intends to foreclose the mortgage and sell the mortgaged property pursuant to a power of sale under section 667-5, the mortgage creditor may submit a written request to the mortgagee foreclosing or who may foreclose the mortgage by power of sale, to receive notice of the mortgagee's intention to foreclose the mortgage under power of sale. This request for notice may be submitted any time after the recordation or filing of the subject mortgage at the bureau of conveyances [or the land court], but must be submitted prior to the completion of the publication of the mortgagee's notice of intention to foreclose the mortgage and of the sale of the mortgaged property. This request shall be signed by the mortgage creditor, or its authorized representative, desiring to receive notice, specifying the name and address of the person to whom the notice is to be mailed. The mortgagee receiving the request shall thereafter give notice to all mortgage creditors who have timely submitted their request. The notice shall be sent by mail or otherwise communicated to the mortgage creditors, not less than seven calendar days prior to the date of sale.

No request for copy of any notice pursuant to this section nor any statement or allegation in any such request nor any record thereof shall affect the title to real property or be deemed notice to any person that any party requesting copy of the notice has or claims any right, title, or interest in, or lien or charge upon the property described in the mortgage referred to therein."

SECTION 59. Section 667-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§667-10 Power unaffected by transfer; surplus after sale. No sale or transfer by the mortgagor shall impair or annul any right or power of attorney given in the mortgage to the mortgagee to sell or transfer the mortgaged property, as attorney or agent of the mortgagor, except as otherwise provided by [chapters 501 and] chapter 502. When public sale is made of the mortgaged property under this chapter, the remainder of the proceeds, if any, shall be paid over to the owner of the mortgaged property, after deducting the amount of claim and all expenses attending the same."

SECTION 60. Section 669-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§669-8 Recording of judgment. The registrar of conveyances [or the assistant registrar of the land court, as the case may be,] shall receive and record or file and register every certified copy of judgment quieting title to property rendered by the circuit court under this chapter whenever the certified copy of judgment is presented to the registrar [or assistant registrar for record or registration.] for recordation."

SECTION 61. Section 231-64, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

["[§231-64] Tax liens; registered land. If the land has been registered in the land court, the state tax collector shall also send by registered mail a notice of the proposed sale to any person holding a mortgage or other lien registered in the office of the assistant registrar of the land court. The notice shall be sent to any such person at the person's last address as shown by the records in the office of the registrar, and shall be deposited in the mail at least forty-five days prior to the date set for the sale.]

SECTION 62. Chapter 501, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

SECTION 63. Section 506-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

["§506-6 Registered land. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to modify or amend chapter 501."]

SECTION 64. All acts passed by the legislature during this Regular Session of 2001, whether enacted before or after the effective date of this Act, shall be amended to conform with this Act unless such acts specifically provide that this Act is being amended.

SECTION 65. All rights, powers, functions, and duties of the land court are abolished. After the effective date of this Act, there shall be no further registrations of land in the land court.

SECTION 66. No officer or employee of the State having tenure shall suffer any loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefit or privilege as a consequence of this Act, and such officer or employee may be transferred or appointed to a civil service position without the necessity of examination; provided that the officer or employee possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which transferred or appointed; and provided that subsequent changes in status may be made pursuant to applicable civil service and compensation laws.

An officer or employee of the State who does not have tenure and who may be transferred or appointed to a civil service position as a consequence of this Act shall become a civil service employee without the loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefits or privileges and without the necessity of examination; provided that such officer or employee possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which transferred or appointed.

If an office or position held by an officer or employee having tenure is abolished, the officer or employee shall not thereby be separated from public employment, but shall remain in the employment of the State with the same pay and classification and shall be transferred to some other office or position for which the officer or employee is eligible under the personnel laws of the State as determined by the head of the department or the governor.

SECTION 67. All registers of titles, all files and documents supporting the same, and all other books, records, and maps maintained by the land court shall become a part of the records of the bureau of conveyances, for all purposes as fully as though they had from their inception formed an integral part of the records of the bureau of conveyances except as otherwise provided by sections 78 and 79.

The registrar of conveyances shall provide that in integrating the records of the land court with those of the bureau of conveyances that chain of title of land formerly registered in land court is preserved, and that land court records are accessible to enable title searches to be conducted.

SECTION 68. After December 31, 2001, all instruments, documents, and papers affecting title to land which had been registered in land court (other than all instruments, documents, and papers registered in land court prior to January 1, 2002) shall be filed or recorded in the bureau of conveyances in the same manner and with the same effect as though title to such land had never been registered in land court, subject to sections 78 and 79.

SECTION 69. Nothing contained in this Act shall in any manner affect any determination made in connection with the original land court registration of title to any land or made in connection with the issuance of any certificate of title by the land court subsequent to the original registration. All instruments, documents, and papers registered by land court and every entry and endorsement of any memorials upon any such certificate of title shall be considered to form part of the record chain of title to such land and afford constructive notice of their contents to the same extent as though they appeared of record in the bureau of conveyances; provided that no such instrument, document, paper, entry, or endorsement shall have any greater or other effect after December 31, 2001, as constructive notice or otherwise, than it had or acquired at the time it was registered in land court or made; and provided further that nothing contained in this Act shall be construed as giving any greater or other effect, as constructive notice or otherwise, to any instrument, document, or paper recorded in the bureau of conveyances prior to January 1, 2001, as to any lands the title to which had been registered in land court than was provided by the laws of this State (including former chapter 501 and other laws regarding property registered in land court) in effect at the time such instrument, document or paper was recorded.

SECTION 70. Nothing contained in this Act shall terminate, extinguish, diminish, or impair any existing right in or pertaining to land, title to which had been registered in land court before January 1, 2002, or any existing right to any compensation created by former chapter 501, Hawaii Revised Statutes, but any such right may be asserted and enforced in the same manner, to the same extent, and subject to the same limitations provided in the land court laws repealed or amended by this Act; except that judicial matters pertaining to the determination of title to such land are transferred to the circuit court of the first circuit of the State of Hawaii.

SECTION 71. Nothing contained in this Act shall affect any right, which existed or would have existed but for this Act, in or pertaining to land which is the subject of a land court application filed before January 1, 2002, including any right to compensation created by the former chapter 501, Hawaii Revised Statutes, but any such right may be asserted and enforced in the same manner, to the same extent, and subject to the same limitations provided in the laws repealed or amended by this Act; except that judicial matters pertaining to the determination of title to such land are transferred to the circuit court of the first circuit of the State of Hawaii. This section is subject to sections 77 and 78.

SECTION 72. In codifying the new sections added by section 1 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 73. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 74. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2002.