Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 382 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to allow each county to fulfill the public notice requirement by selecting its own source of publication, rather than a state-selected publication.

The bill achieves this by removing the counties from the definition of "government agency", as the term is used to require publication of notice. However, the separate notice requirements arising under the state procurement code and the purchase of health and human services are unaffected.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, the Chairman and two members of the Maui County Council, the Office of the Hawaii County Clerk, and the Hawaii Newspaper Agency.

The State Department of Accounting and General Services and Common Cause Hawaii testified in opposition to this bill.

Your Committee finds that under existing law, the counties are required to publish public notices in a statewide weekly publication selected by the State Comptroller. The counties have experienced problems in meeting legislative deadlines because weekly publications require more advance notice than daily countywide publications.

Your Committee has made stylistic and technical changes that do not affect the substance of the bill including correcting a typographical error in the title.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 382, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 382, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.