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.R. No. 55 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) to conduct a study of the guardian ad litem/attorney statutory fee requirements.

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

Section 571-87, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which provides for the appointment and compensation of counsel or guardian ad litem, was enacted by Act 376, Session Laws of Hawaii 1987. The law has not been amended since to increase the fees. Your Committee believes that the time is proper for the LRB to review the fee system and to recommend statutory changes if appropriate.

Your Committee further finds that possible abuses of the fee system have been reported. Your Committee believes that these abuses should be investigated by the Auditor.

Your Committee has amended this measure by adding a directive to the Auditor to conduct an audit of the guardian ad litem fee system, to determine whether there are instances of irregularities such as families being coerced into paying the guardian ad litem for a favorable report and other pertinent matters of the system. Your Committee further amended this measure to require both the Auditor and the LRB to report to the 2003 Regular Session.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 55, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 55, S.D. 1.