STAND. COM. REP. NO. 357
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2015
RE: H.B. No. 903
Honorable Joseph M. Souki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Eighth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2015
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 903 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL,"
begs leave to report as follows:
Pursuant to requirements set forth in Article VII, Section 9, of the Hawaii State Constitution, the Governor, in Governor's Message No. 164 to the Legislature, requested immediate consideration and passage of this bill by the Legislature to retain expert witnesses and expert counsel for major litigation involving the State.
The Department of the Attorney General testified in support of this measure.
Your Committee is concerned about the repeated requests for emergency appropriations to cover long-term litigation costs. Your Committee requests that the Executive Branch, together with the Department of the Attorney General, consider requesting additional attorneys and in-house support staff to handle the long-term cases and provide for litigation needs through the regular budget process. Your Committee recommends that the Attorney General review its strategy in the Kalima v. State of Hawaii case in order to efficiently plan, budget, and resolve the outstanding claims on behalf of beneficiaries and the State. Your Committee respectfully requests the Committee on Finance to consider these issues in the review of this measure and the overall State budget.
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. 903 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,
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____________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair |
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