STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2085

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2744

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 S.B. No. 2744 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FALSE CLAIMS TO THE STATE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to increase penalties for false claims to the State to maintain consistency with the federal False Claims Act and to comply with the federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General and one individual.

Your Committee finds that the existing penalty for false claims to the State in Hawaii is inconsistent with related provisions of federal law. Under federal law, Hawaii is entitled to an additional ten percent share of shared damages in parallel state and federal False Claims Act cases; particularly cases involving fraud perpetrated against government medical assistance programs. Hawaii is presently operating under a waiver from the federal government that entitles the State to the additional ten percent of shared damages even though Hawaii's false claims to the State law is not consistent with related provisions of federal law, but this waiver will expire on December 31, 2018. Updating the State's false claims against the State law prior to the waiver's expiration will ensure that Hawaii continues to be entitled to the State's full share of shared damages in Federal False Claims Act cases.

Your Committee has amended this measure by 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 S.B. No. 2744, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2744, 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