Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 441 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to enable the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to hire its own attorneys.

Testimony in support of the measure was received from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and a private citizen. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands provided comments on the measure.

Your Committee finds that there are instances in which the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' legal interests diverge from that of the State of Hawaii. In such instances, representation by the Attorney General, whose overall purpose is to represent the State of Hawaii in legal matters, compromises the Department's and its beneficiaries' interests.

Your Committee believes that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands should have the authority to hire its own attorney independent from that of those attorneys provided by the Attorney General in order to ensure that the interests of the Department's beneficiaries are vigorously upheld.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 441 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.