STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3307

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1055

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 1055, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATED TO ELECTIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to conform the voter registration statutes to the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) by:

     (1)  Requiring on an application to register to vote, a Hawaii driver's license number or a Hawaii state identification card number or, if no license or identification card has been issued, the last four digits of the applicant's social security number; and

     (2)  If the applicant does not have a social security number, requiring the State to assign the applicant a unique number for voter registration purposes.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Common Cause Hawaii.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Elections and Office of the City Clerk, City and County of Honolulu.

     Your Committee finds that section 303 of HAVA requires applicants for voter registration for federal office elections to provide a driver's license number, if one has been issued, or if none has been issued, the last four digits of the applicant's social security number.  Section 303 also includes a special rule for applicants without a driver's license or social security number, which requires the State to assign the applicant a number that will serve to identify the applicant for voter registration purposes.  This measure conforms state election laws for voter registration to the same requirements of the federal election law.

     Your Committee notes that this measure requires the State to assign the applicant a unique number for voter registration purposes if the applicant does not have a social security number; however, it is unclear whether an election official or county clerk would be authorized to assign a unique voter registration number under the new statewide voter registration system that is scheduled to be ready for use for the 2018 election.

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting references to the State as the entity required to assign a unique number for voter registration and requiring an election official or county clerk to assign the number;

     (2)  Changing the effective date from upon its approval to January 1, 2018, to align with the scheduled implementation of the new statewide voter registration system; and

     (3)  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 H.B. No. 1055, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1055, H.D. 2, 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,

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GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair