STAND. COM. REP. NO. 146

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 327

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 327 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Require the electronic transmission of databases containing driver's license and civil identification card information to election officials and the statewide voter registration system;

     (2)  Require the Office of Elections to join the Electronic Registration Information Center and share information with the counties pursuant to the terms of the membership agreement;

     (3)  Require the Office of Elections and the county offices that administer elections to verify their respective voter registration rolls; and

     (4)  Appropriate funds to the Office of Elections to join the Electronic Registration Information Center.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Elections, Common Cause Hawaii, and League of Women Voters of Hawaii.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Transportation and Office of the County Clerk, County of Kauai.

     Your Committee finds that the Electronic Registration Information Center is a nonprofit organization that helps states improve the accuracy of voter registration rolls by using secure data-matching tools.  States who are members of the Electronic Registration Information Center have reported an increase in voter registration through improved access to the registration process, reduction in provisional ballots, shorter lines at polling places due to clarity in registration status and accuracy of registration data, and improvements in record keeping for election administration offices.  By requiring the Office of Elections to join the Electronic Registration Information Center, this measure will help the State to realize the same benefits reported by states that are already members.

     Your Committee notes the concerns raised by the Office of the County Clerk of the County of Kauai regarding providing the Electronic Registration Information Center with personally identifiable information of nearly a million Hawaii residents and whether the sharing of this information may pose liability issues for the State.  Your Committee further notes that the initial membership fee to join the Electronic Registration Information Center is $25,000.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

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

     (2)  Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment 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 S.B. No. 327, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 327, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________

GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair