STAND. COM. REP. NO. 728

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1176

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. 1176, S.D. 1, 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 ensure that the State's false claims act remains in conformity with federal law.

Specifically, this measure:

(1) Conforms the penalty amounts for false claims to the State with the penalty amounts pursuant to the 2019 amounts of the federal False Claims Act; and

(2) Requires that, beginning in 2020 and every year thereafter, the penalty amounts in Hawaii's false claims act shall have the same amounts and the same effective dates as those adjusted and adopted by the United States Department of Justice for the federal False Claims Act.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that this measure will bring the State into compliance with a federal mandate that the Hawaii false claims act penalties consistently match the federal False Claims Act penalties.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Reducing the maximum penalty amount from $22,927 to $22,363 to match the amount established in federal law;

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

(3) Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

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. 1176, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1176, 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