Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 708 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to create a federal reimbursement maximization special fund (fund).

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Public Safety (PSD).

The fund is intended to hold all federal reimbursements received by the PSD relating to the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which is a federal program that provides funds to the states to prosecute illegal aliens violating state laws. The PSD will use moneys in the fund to meet the state match requirement for federal grants and costs associated with federal grant reporting requirements. The PSD is required to render an annual report on the status of the fund to the legislature before the convening of each regular legislative session. An appropriation is made to the PSD to carry out this measure.

Your Committee finds that PSD has had difficulty meeting state match and reporting requirements for federal grants. For example, budget restrictions have made state match moneys scarce, and a typical requirement of federal grants today is that the State must have a dedicated source of state funding for the matching grant. The regular financial and program reports required by federal grants will be easier to compile with a special fund.

Although this measure creates another special fund, your Committee passes this measure as a revenue enhancement measure to bring in more federal grants to PSD.

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 H.B. No. 708 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.