STAND. COM. REP. NO.  65-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   H.B. No. 420

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 420 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION TO REQUIRE DISCLOSURE OF THE NAMES OF JUDICIAL NOMINEES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to propose an amendment to the Hawaii State Constitution to require the Judicial Selection Commission to disclose the list of judicial nominees for a vacancy in the office of the chief justice, supreme court, intermediate appellate court, circuit courts, or district courts to the public concurrently with the presentation of each list to the Governor or Chief Justice, as applicable.  

The League of Women Voters; Americans for Democratic Action, Hawaii; and one concerned individual testified in support of this measure.  The Department of the Attorney General testified in opposition to this bill.  The Judicial Selection Commission provided comments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by replacing the term "concurrently" in the ballot question with the terms "at the same time" to ensure the ballot question's clarity.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 420, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 420, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair