STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3367

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1288

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1288, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ORDER OF SUCCESSION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to address succession issues relating to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.

More specifically, this measure:

     (1)  Provides that the successor to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, when the Office of the Lieutenant Governor becomes vacant, shall be a member of the same political party as the Governor;

     (2)  Allows the Governor to appoint a Lieutenant Governor in the absence of an appropriate successor; and

     (3)  Clarifies the order of succession when the Lieutenant Governor is temporarily absent from the State or is temporarily disabled.

     Your Committee received no written comments on this measure.

     Your Committee finds that the requirement that the successor to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor be of the same political party as the Governor allows for an expeditious transition of the powers and duties to the successor.  Your Committee believes that this measure will provide for a more efficient execution of government services as well as ensure that policies and initiatives are not compromised upon the change in the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1)  Reinserting existing statutory language that was inadvertently omitted;

(2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

(3)  Making technical nonsubstantive changes for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1288, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1288, H.D. 1, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair