STAND. COM. REP. NO. 702

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 150

       S.D. 2

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 150, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VOTING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Specify that an affidavit on application for voter registration shall be a part of the application associated with the issuance of a civil identification card and driver's license; and

     (2)  Make conforming amendments under chapter 286, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to reflect inclusion of the affidavit on application for voter registration on the application for a civil identification card and driver's license.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Elections; Office of the County Clerk, County of Kauai; and two individuals.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

     Your Committees find that voter registration, as a percentage of eligible voters, is dismally low in Hawaii compared to other states.  This measure will assist in increasing voter registration by providing an additional mechanism to register to vote.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting language suggested by the Office of Elections that requires the examiner of drivers in each county to maintain an electronic database of voter registration applications and authorizes the electronic transmission and accessibility of voter registration applications in conjunction with driver's license and civil identification card applications to streamline procedures;

     (2)  Inserting an effective date of January 7, 2059, to encourage further discussion; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 150, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 150, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Ways and Means,

________________________________ JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair

________________________________ GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair