STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2289

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2156

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 2156 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE JUDICIARY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to authorize the Chief Justice to appoint a judge or justice to the position of Administrative Director of the Courts, while allowing the appointee to continue to receive the salary and benefits of the judicial position.

     Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by the Judiciary.  Written testimony presented to your Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that this measure will allow the Chief Justice flexibility in determining the best and most appropriate qualifications for the Administrative Director.  A judge or justice's familiarity with the judicial system, through time spent on the bench, may be a particularly useful qualification for an Administrative Director to possess.  Your Committee finds, however, that the term of such an appointment should be limited to no more than two years.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by limiting the term of a judge or justice's appointment to the Administrative Director position to no more than two years.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2156, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2156, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations,

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair