HB1294.DOC

SECTION 1. Chapter 341, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§341- Hearings. (a) If a dispute involving matters addressed in chapter 342B, 342D, 342F, 342G, 342H, 342I, 342J, 342L, 342N, 342P, or 343 arises between parties, in addition to any other legal remedies that may be available, a party may file a request for a hearing with the office of administrative hearings of the department of commerce and consumer affairs.

(b) The office of administrative hearings shall accept no more than requests for hearing per fiscal year under this section.

(c) The party requesting the hearing shall pay a filing fee of $ to the department of commerce and consumer affairs, and the failure to do so shall result in the request for hearing being rejected for filing. All other parties shall file a response, accompanied by a filing fee of $ , to the department of commerce and consumer affairs, within twenty days of being served with the request for hearing.

(d) The hearings officer appointed by the director of commerce and consumer affairs pursuant to section 26-9(f) shall have jurisdiction to review any request for hearing filed under subsection (a). The hearings officer shall have the power to issue subpoenas, administer oaths, hear testimony, find facts, make conclusions of law, and issue written decisions that shall be final and conclusive, unless a party adversely affected by the decision files an appeal in the circuit court under section 91‑14.

(e) Rules of practice and procedure of the department of commerce and consumer affairs shall govern all proceedings brought under this section. The burden of proof, including the burden of producing the evidence and the burden of persuasion, shall be upon the party initiating the proceeding. Proof of a matter shall be by a preponderance of the evidence.

(f) Hearings to review and make determinations upon any requests for hearings filed under subsection (a) shall commence within sixty days following the receipt of the request for hearing. The hearings officer shall issue written findings of fact, conclusions of law, and an order as expeditiously as practicable after the hearing has been concluded.

(g) Each party to the hearing shall bear the party's own costs, including attorney's fees, unless otherwise ordered by the hearings officer.

(h) Any party to a proceeding under this section who is aggrieved by a final decision of a hearings officer may apply for judicial review of that decision pursuant to section 91‑14; provided that any party seeking judicial review pursuant to section 91‑14 shall be responsible for the costs of preparing the record on appeal, including the cost of preparing the transcript of the hearing.

(i) The department of commerce and consumer affairs may adopt rules and forms, pursuant to chapter 91, to effectuate the purpose of this section and to implement its provisions."

SECTION 2. Section 26-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (f) to read as follows:

"(f) The director of commerce and consumer affairs may appoint a hearings officer or officers not subject to chapter 76 to hear and decide any case or controversy regarding licenses and the application and enforcement of rules involving any of the boards, commissions, or regulatory programs within the department of commerce and consumer affairs[.], or matters pursuant to section 341- . The hearings officer or officers shall have power to issue subpoenas, administer oaths, hear testimony, find facts, and make conclusions of law and a recommended decision; provided that the conclusions and decisions shall be subject to review and redetermination by the officer, board, or commission which would have heard the case in the first instance in the absence of a hearings officer. The review shall be conducted in accordance with chapter 91."

SECTION 3. The director of commerce and consumer affairs shall prepare and submit to the legislature, twenty days prior to the convening of the 2010 and 2011 regular sessions, a report containing the director's evaluation of the operation and effect of section 1 of this Act. The report shall include a summary of the requests for hearing brought under the section, the disposition of such requests for hearing, an appraisal of the effectiveness of the section, and recommendations for changes, modifications, or repeal of the section or parts thereof with accompanying reasons and data.

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2009, and shall be repealed on June 30, 2012; provided that section 26‑9(f), Hawaii Revised Statutes, is reenacted in the form in which it existed the day before the effective date of this Act.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1294
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII