SB1103 SD1.DOC

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1103
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO EFFECTIVE LEGISLATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that many existing laws in the Hawaii Revised Statutes or portions thereof may be obsolete, redundant, conflicting, ambiguous, or in need of repeal or amendment accordingly. This reduces the effectiveness of those laws.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a permanent commission on effective legislation to carry out ongoing review of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

SECTION 2. Chapter 96, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§96‑ Commission on effective legislation. (a) There is established within the office of the ombudsman a commission on effective legislation. The commission shall be composed of:

(1) The ombudsman or the ombudsman's designee, who shall serve as chairperson of the commission;

(2) The director of the legislative reference bureau or the director's designee, who shall serve as vice-chairperson;

(3) Six department heads or their designees representing the executive departments of the State, three of whom shall be appointed by the president of the senate and three of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; provided that the president of the senate and speaker of the house of representatives may jointly appoint additional department heads or substitute department heads of different executive departments, not sooner than every two years, to facilitate the review of a broader spectrum of laws;

(4) The president of the University of Hawaii or the president's designee; and

(5) Four representatives of the counties, one each to be appointed by the mayor of each of the respective counties.

(b) The purpose of the commission is to promote and maintain the effectiveness of legislation, codified within the Hawaii Revised Statutes, to ensure the statutes remain rational, clear, coherent, and sensible by reviewing existing statutes on an ongoing basis.

(c) The commission shall meet on an ongoing basis as necessary. The chairperson shall notify each member of the time and place of a meeting; provided that an executive department with representation on the commission may make a written submission in lieu of or in addition to attendance at a meeting.

(d) The commission shall review existing laws within the Hawaii Revised Statutes that are brought to its attention by legislators, state and county agencies, and members of the public; provided that nothing in this section shall prevent the commission or any of its members from reviewing portions of statutory law on their own initiative. The commission shall solicit comment from state and county agencies and the public for purposes of this section. The commission's review shall consist of an examination of whether a statute or statutes or portions thereof are obsolete, redundant, conflicting, ambiguous, or in need of repeal or amendment. The commission shall make a determination in each case and shall incorporate its findings and recommendations in the report required under subsection (e).

(e) The ombudsman shall submit reports of the commission's findings and recommendations made pursuant to subsection (d), to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session. Reports shall be submitted not less than once every other year."

SECTION 3. Section 96-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§96-5 Jurisdiction. The ombudsman has jurisdiction to investigate the administrative acts of agencies and the ombudsman may exercise the ombudsman's powers without regard to the finality of any administrative act. The ombudsman has jurisdiction to administer the commission on effective legislation under section 96‑ ."

SECTION 4. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2070.