STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2877

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 40

       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 Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 40 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PETITIONING CONGRESS FOR A LIMITED AMENDMENTS CONVENTION FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROPOSING A FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to petition the United States Congress to call a convention for the purpose of proposing a free and fair elections amendment to the United States Constitution pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Wolf PAC and twelve individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

     Your Committee finds that free and fair elections are a cornerstone of representative democracy.  The stated intention of the framers of the United States Constitution was that the United States Congress be dependent on the people alone.  Since the nation's founding, developments in media technology and the social and economic makeup of the United States have resulted in a perceived and actual increase in the influence of powerful economic actors over the political process.  The exact nature of these developments could not have been anticipated by the framers of the United States Constitution, and your Committee finds that it is appropriate and necessary to amend the United States Constitution to address the circumstances brought about by those developments.  Your Committee notes that a convention to propose amendments pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution has never occurred in the nation's history, and that it is prudent to take steps to narrow the scope of the convention if possible.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by identifying and clarifying the three specific areas of concern that the proposed constitutional convention is requested to address.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 40, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 40, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs,

________________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair