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 S.B. No. 1134 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to create a civil filing fee for administrative costs in the district and circuit courts, to be deposited into the Judiciary computer system special fund.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Judiciary. Testimony in opposition was received from Credit Associates of Maui, Ltd., VeriCheck, Pacific Collections, Doctors Business Bureau, Collection Agency of Hawaii, Inc., Medical Collection Agency of Hawaii, Hawaiian Collectors Assn., Inc., Hawaii Moms and Dads 4 Kids, Select Consulting Service, Kauai Credit Adjusters, Ltd., Collection Law Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association, and two individuals.

This measure imposes a fee for administrative costs associated with the processing of certain civil filings in the circuit and district courts of the State, and to deposit those fees into the Judiciary computer system special fund. By depositing the fees into the special fund, the users of the court system will directly support the implementation of an integrated judiciary information management system that will allow the Judiciary to greatly increase its efficiency by upgrading the court's outdated, fragmented, and badly overloaded computer system.

Auditor Report No. 1-12, July 2001, regarding audits of special and revolving funds, audited the Judiciary computer special fund and found: "The fund continues to serve the purpose for which it was originally created and has enabled the Judiciary to undertake its Judicial Information Management System (JIMS) project.... Depositing a portion of fees collected by other courts into this special fund would be an appropriate financing mechanism because JIMS will benefit the users of all courts."

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 S.B. No. 1134 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.