STAND. COM. REP. NO. 560

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1080

       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.B. No. 1080 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIFORM MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS ACT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to apply the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), codified at Title 42 United States Code Sections 1973ff et seq., to state and county elections.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Commission to Promote Uniform Legislation.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of Elections.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of the City Clerk of the City and County of Honolulu.

     Your Committee finds that on October 28, 2009, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (NDAA) was signed into law.  Subtitle H of the NDAA amended various parts of the UOCAVA.  Among these requirements was a provision requiring states to transmit absentee ballots to uniformed and overseas voters no later than forty-five days prior to a federal election.  Shortly after the NDAA was passed, the Office of Elections adopted administrative rules that addressed all mandatory parts of the NDAA.  Additionally, the Legislature passed H.B. No. 2397, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, C.D. 1 (2010), enacted as Act 126, which moved the date of the primary election to the second Saturday of August, in order to comply with the forty-five day time period mandated by the NDAA.

     While the NDAA was intended to remedy obstacles faced by military personnel and overseas civilians that make it difficult to exercise their right to vote, it has not been entirely successful in accomplishing this goal due to procedural differences between the new federal requirements and state and local elections that are not covered by the federal law.  Additionally, there is little consistency among jurisdictions regarding how these state and local elections are conducted.  In response, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws developed the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act, with the aims of applying the federal statutes to state and local elections and creating uniformity and consistency among jurisdictions.  This measure is the product of those efforts.

     While the intent of this measure is laudatory, practically speaking, it creates inconsistencies within Hawaii's election laws and requirements that are not necessary to enfranchise uniformed and overseas voters, according to testimony submitted by the Office of the City Clerk.  Concerns were raised that this measure will require changes to county ordinances and charters and to state law to address conflicting requirements.  Your Committee notes that the Commission to Promote Uniform Legislation and the Office of the City Clerk have been working together to reach a workable compromise on these issues.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to allow for further discussion; and

     (2)  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 is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1080, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1080, 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