STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3028

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1646

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1646, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to provide that when a candidate other than the incumbent is elected to the office of United States Senator as part of Hawaii's congressional delegation, and the incumbent vacates the office prior to the expiration of the incumbent's term, the governor must appoint the member-elect to immediately fill the vacancy.

Your Committee did not receive any testimony on this measure.

Your Committee finds that the United States Congress operates on a seniority system of granting privileges, such as selection of offices and committee assignments, to its members who have served the longest. Greater seniority as compared to other newly-elected Senators will empower members of the Hawaii delegation to the Senate to better represent the interests of Hawaii's citizens. This measure will establish a procedure through which a newly-elected Senator will be automatically appointed to complete the term of an outgoing incumbent if the incumbent resigns between the general election and the end of the incumbent's term.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2035, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) 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 that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1646, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1646, H.D. 1, 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,

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BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair