Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 551 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to enhance the efficiency of, and further enable board members in performing board business such as investigation, coordination, information gathering, and dissemination of board-related information in other public forums.

The Office of Information Practices, members of the Maui County Council, City and County of Honolulu Department of the Corporation Council, and Hawaii State Teachers Association supported this bill. The League of Women Voters and a concerned individual provided comments on this measure.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Adding, and allowing, the Lieutenant Governor and State

elected officials to meet with two or more board members

for informational gathering and fact-finding purposes;

(2) Incorporating language which allows two or more board

members to meet with, separately or together, an

executive officer of the board and the head of a

department to which the board is administratively

assigned;

(3) Removing stipulations that board members must be

authorized prior to testifying and making presentations,

in their official capacity, at another board meeting or

having to report back to the board on their activities

at the other board meeting;

(4) Inserting section 92-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive, changes for clarity,

consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 551, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 551, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.