Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 1381 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to change the reporting time for the Elections Appointment and Review Panel (Panel) to report to the legislature from every odd-numbered year to even-numbered year.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Panel.

Current law requires the Panel to submit its findings and recommendations from the biennial performance evaluation to the legislature twenty days before the convening of a session in an odd-numbered year. Your Committee finds that because election operations begin in February of every even-numbered year and end twenty days after the general election, the Panel has only one month to prepare the report.

Your Committee further finds that one month is insufficient time for the Panel to do a complete and accurate report, particularly immediately after the high stress and high volume activity of an election.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

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. 1381, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1381, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.