Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 386, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to repeal the jury service exemptions for most existing categories of state residents, except for jurors who served within the last year and members of the police or fire departments.

In addition, this measure adds jury service exemptions for members of an emergency medical services agency, persons who live more than seventy miles from the court for which jury service is requested, and persons who are eighty years old or older.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Judiciary, the Department of Health, and the League of Women Voters of Hawaii. The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for the County of Hawaii submitted testimony in opposition to this measure.

Your Committee finds that jury service is a fundamental obligation of citizenship and the selection of a jury from a representative cross-section of the population is critical to our justice system.

Your Committee has amended this measure to change the effective date from January 1, 2096, to July 1, 2006. Your Committee also made technical, nonsubstantive changes for clarity and style.

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. 386, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 386, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.