STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1050

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1058

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1058, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to facilitate voter understanding of proposed amendments to the state constitution.

Specifically, this measure:

(1) Requires the Attorney General to prepare a statement in English and Hawaiian for each proposed constitutional amendment, in language that is clear and neither misleading nor deceptive, that indicates the purpose, limitations, and effects of the proposed amendment;

(2) Requires the Office of Elections and county clerks to make each statement available to the public at all physical locations or online sites where those agencies make proposed constitutional amendment questions available to the public; and

(3) Appropriates $10,000 for the translation, preparation, and distribution of statements for proposed constitutional amendments.

Your Committee finds that this measure will help voters understand their role in the constitutional amendment process and make informed decision by providing voters with clear information about what proposed constitutional amendments would do.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing unnecessary language that requires that the Attorney General's statement be neither misleading nor deceptive;

(2) Clarifying that the statement shall be available to the public at all polling places in the State and on a website operated by the Office of Elections;

(3) Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount;

(4) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

(5) Making a technical nonsubstantive change for the purpose of clarity.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1058, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1058, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair