Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 401, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to permit the Elections Appointment and Review Panel to remove the Chief Election Officer from office only for good cause.

Your Committee received testimony from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor requesting that the contents of this measure be replaced with that of Senate Bill No. 472 which confers the duties of the Chief Election Officer onto the Lieutenant Governor. The Department of the Attorney General (AG) provided comments.

Your Committee finds that article V, section 6 of the Hawaii State Constitution provides that all executive and administrative offices shall be allocated among not more than twenty principal departments. Only agencies that are both temporary and for a special purpose may be administratively attached to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, which is not a principal department.

In 1995, the powers and duties of the Chief Election Officer were transferred from the Lieutenant Governor to an appointed Chief Election Officer. The Office of Elections was then administratively attached to the Lieutenant Governor's Office. This placement was intended to be temporary, and was to sunset on June 30, 1999. During the regular session of 1999, House Bill No. 1471 was introduced which proposed to attach the Office of Elections to the Department of Accounting and General Services. The bill was amended in conference to remove the sunset provision and to continue the attachment of the Office of Elections to the Lieutenant Governor's Office. Had the Governor vetoed the measure, the powers and duties of the Chief Election Officer would have reverted to the Lieutenant Governor on July 1, 1999.

The AG proposed three methods of addressing this constitutional violation:

The AG discourages using option three. Article IV, section 3 of the State Constitution specifically provides for a Chief Election Officer. In accordance with the constitution, the position of Chief Election Officer should retain a more permanent status.

Upon further discussion with deputies from the Department of the Attorney General, your Committee discovered that the Campaign Spending Commission (Commission) is also administratively attached, although temporarily, to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Your Committee was surprised to find that the attachment sunsets on June 30, 2003. Finding no other measure extending the Commission's temporary attachment, your Committee decided to use this measure to permanently attach the Commission to DAGS as well. Your Committee considered placing the Commission within the AG because the purpose of the Commission is not quite consistent with the purposes of DAGS as described in §26-6, HRS. After consultation with the AG, however, your Committee decided that placement of the Commission within DAGS is appropriate because the placement is only for administrative purposes.

Based on the above, your Committee amended the bill by:

Your Committee notes, that this session, as well as during the past four legislative sessions, the Chair of your Committee introduced bills conferring the powers and duties of the Chief Election Officer on the Lieutenant Governor. The Office of the Lieutenant Governor as well as a majority of the public testimony received opposed the bills. Your Committee recommends that the Office of the Lieutenant Governor develop a public relations campaign aimed at gaining public support for conferring the responsibilities of the Office of Elections onto the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, and submit a bill to that effect next legislative session.

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. 401, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 401, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.