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. 1132 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to statutorily clarify that the family court may procure the services of court-appointed counsel and guardian ad litem (GAL) pursuant to procurement laws at reasonable rates of compensation.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Judiciary.

Your Committee finds that in Family Court, Child Protective Act cases may continue for years with regular statutorily mandated hearings. Your Committee further finds that the Judiciary has not received sufficient legislative appropriations to pay all court-appointed counsel and GAL fee requests and has had to limit awards of excess fees. The Judiciary has also experimented with a pilot project that privatizes these services.

Your Committee commends the Judiciary for developing alternative ways of providing services in fiscally challenged times. Your Committee believes, however, that compensation should be based on statutorily set fees. Therefore, your Committee amended the bill by requiring that compensation be based on statutorily established fees rather than on discretionary rates of compensation.

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. 1132, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1132, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.