Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred Governor's Message Nos. 174, 175, and 176, submitting for study and consideration the nominations of:

begs leave to report as follows:

Your Committee has reviewed the personal histories, résumés, and statements submitted by the nominees, and finds the nominees to have the necessary qualifications to be appointed to the position of nomination.

Your Committee received testimony in support of CORAL WONG PIETSCH from the Hawaii Department of Defense, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Hawaii Civil Rights Commission and three individuals. Ms. Wong serves as the senior civilian attorney for the United States Army Pacific headquarters with jurisdiction over Army forces located throughout the Pacific region, where she oversees the personnel and labor law practice and trains staff on equal employment opportunity and affirmative action issues. She is also charged with development and implementation of affirmative action plans. Ms. Pietsch served five years as the Labor Counsel for the United States Army Support Command Hawaii where she trained managers and supervisors on Title VII, Civil Rights Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1978, and the prevention of sexual harassment. She also served six years as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of Hawaii. She received a Juris Doctorate from the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In addition, Ms. Pietsch was a Senior Executive Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. She has been recognized as the first female General Officer of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, and the first Asian American female to reach the rank of Brigadier General in the Army Reserve. Locally, Ms. Pietsch was honored as the 2002 Woman Lawyer of the Year by the Hawaii Women Lawyers Association and was the 2002 recipient of the Organization of Chinese Americans Pioneer Award.

Your Committee received testimony in support of ROGER DANIEL RIZZO from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, The Salvation Army, Church of the Holy Innocents and Service Corps of Retired Executives Association. Mr. Rizzo spent thirteen years as a civil trial attorney with Sedgwick, Detert, Muran and Arnold. He was also a successful electrical contractor in the San Francisco area of California. Mr. Rizzo holds a Juris Doctorate, an MBA with a specialty in Finance and a BA in International Business. He received the Hastings Law Journal and American Jurisprudence Awards in Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure.

Your Committee received testimony in support of LISA ANN S.L. WONG from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, Society for Human Resource Management and six individuals. Ms. Wong is the Human Resources Manager for the SMG, Inc./Hawaii Convention Center. She has worked in the human resources field for twenty-eight years. Ms. Wong has a broad working knowledge of fair employment laws, with experience in conducting internal investigations and preparing responses to discrimination complaints. She is a board member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and was chairperson for the SHRM Hawaii State Conference in 2003. Ms. Wong also serves on numerous professional and community organizations.

Your Committee finds that all three nominees are already serving on the Civil Rights Commission as interim appointments and thus are very familiar with its functions and mandates. Your Committee further finds that each of the nominees possess both the experience and the knowledge necessary to serve on the Civil Rights Commission.

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, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominees, has found the nominees to be qualified for the positions to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nominations.