STAND. COM. REP. NO. 425

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 948

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 948 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE HAWAII CONSTITUTION TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF NOMINEES FOR JUDICIAL VACANCIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to propose a constitutional amendment to reduce the number of nominees presented to the Governor and the Chief Justice for various judicial vacancies from four to six nominees to three nominees.

     Your Committee felt that reducing the amount of nominees would minimize the politicization of the appointment process and would allow for the most qualified to be selected. 

     Your Committee received testimony from the Public Defender and the Attorney General's Office opposing the bill.

     Your Committee amended the bill to remove the minimum amount and to set the amount to a finite number of three nominees.  The bill initially did not set a maximum amount.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 948, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 948, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair