STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1298

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 113

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 113 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE HAWAII SUPREME COURT STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE RULES OF EVIDENCE TO STUDY AND REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HAWAII UNIFORM COLLABORATIVE LAW ACT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to request that the Hawaii Supreme Court Standing Committee on the Rules of Evidence conduct a study on the implementation of the Hawaii Uniform Collaborative Law Act.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Commission to Promote Uniform Legislation.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Judiciary.

     Your Committee finds that collaborative law is a form of alternative dispute resolution.  Specifically, collaborative law is a voluntary process in which the lawyers and their clients agree that the lawyers will represent their clients solely for the purposes of settlements and that the clients will hire new counsel if the dispute is not settled.  Your Committee understands that House Bill No. 626 (2011) was heard by the House Committee on Judiciary, which deferred the bill in response to a request from the Judiciary so that the measure could be reviewed by the Hawaii Supreme Court Standing Committee on the Rules of Evidence.  This measure represents the Legislature's request for this review to occur.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     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 concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 113, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 113, S.D. 1.

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

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair