HB1632

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to reclassify or abolish certain non-general funds of the department of the attorney general pursuant to the recommendations by the auditor in auditor's report no. 19-16 and to transfer the remaining unencumbered balances to the general fund.

SECTION 2. Section 28-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§28-13[]] Antitrust [~~trust~~] special fund. (a) There is established in the state treasury the antitrust [~~trust~~] special fund, into which shall be deposited:

(1) Ten per cent of any antitrust judgment or settlement received by the State except where the deposit is inconsistent with the court order or settlement agreement relating to the amount; and

(2) Appropriations made by the legislature.

(b) The antitrust [~~trust~~] special fund shall be administered by the department of the attorney general and shall be used for expenditures relating to the enforcement of antitrust laws, including but not limited to expenditures for training, equipment purchases, educational resources, and facilitating participation in antitrust lawsuits and investigations initiated by other states.

(c) All unencumbered and unexpended moneys in excess of $250,000 remaining on balance in the antitrust [~~trust~~] special fund at the close of June 30 of each year shall lapse to the credit of the general fund.

(d) The department of the attorney general shall submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session to provide an accounting of the receipts and expenditures of the antitrust special fund."

SECTION 3. Section 28-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§28-16[]] Litigation deposits trust [~~fund.~~] account. (a) There is created in the state treasury the litigation deposits trust [~~fund.~~] account. There shall be deposited into this [~~fund~~] account all moneys received through any civil action in which the State is a party where the settlement amount is $100,000 or higher, except for those actions involving department able to procure their own legal services as provided for by section 28-8.3 and where no other state statute or court order specifically provides for the deposit of moneys received through the action.

(b) The [~~fund~~] account shall be administered by the department of the attorney general. The department shall maintain accounting records of [~~fund~~] account moneys, including subsidiary records of individual litigation deposits and disbursements thereof. Moneys in the [~~fund~~] account may be separated into subsidiary accounts; provided that one subsidiary account shall not be commingled with moneys from another subsidiary account except for deposit or investment purposes under subsection (d).

(c) Disbursements from each subsidiary account maintained under subsection (b) may include attorney's fees and other necessary expenses that the department determines to be reasonable and directly related to prosecution of the civil action for which the subsidiary account is maintained; provided that in the case of moneys deposited as a result of recoveries by an agency to which a non-general fund applies, the moneys shall be held and disbursed intact for deposit to the credit of the non-general fund. Money deposited in the [~~fund~~] litigation deposits trust account pursuant to an order of the court shall be disbursed in accordance with the order of the court. Any residual funds remaining in [an] a subsidiary account shall be transferred to the respective non-general or general fund with which the civil action is associated no later than thirty days after the civil action for which the subsidiary account is maintained is closed and all costs of that civil action have been paid, unless otherwise provided for by statute.

(d) Moneys in the [~~fund~~] litigation deposits trust account may be invested by the department in securities as provided by section 36-21. Investment earnings shall be deposited in the general fund.

(e) The department shall submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session on:

(1) The transactions, by subsidiary account, that take place in the [~~fund~~] litigation deposits trust account for each fiscal year; and

(2) A summary of the collections made in any amount on behalf of other departments and agencies specifying the appropriate number of transactions and amount collected for each department and agency."

SECTION 4. Section 456-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

"(d) The foregoing moneys collected by the attorney general pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the notaries public [~~revolving~~] special fund established by section 456-9.5, except that if that fund is terminated, the foregoing moneys shall thereafter be deposited with the director of finance to the credit of the general fund."

SECTION 5. Section 456-9.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§456-9.5 Notaries public [~~revolving~~] special fund. (a) There is established in the state treasury the notaries public [~~revolving~~] special fund into which shall be deposited:

(1) All fees, administrative fines, charges, or other payments received pursuant to section 456-9;

(2) Penalties and fines for violations of section 456-3, 456-7, or 456-16;

(3) Appropriations made for deposit into the notaries public [~~revolving~~] special fund; and

(4) Interest earned on money in the notaries public [~~revolving~~] special fund.

(b) The notaries public [~~revolving~~] special fund shall be administered by the department of the attorney general. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, moneys in the notaries public [~~revolving~~] special fund shall be used for personnel costs, the acquisition of equipment, and operating and administrative costs deemed necessary by the department of the attorney general to administer this chapter. The moneys in the fund may also be used to train personnel as the attorney general deems necessary, and for any other activity related to notaries public."

SECTION 6. Section 456-18, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§456-18 Notaries in government service. Except as otherwise provided for by law, the head of every department (which term as used in this chapter includes any department, board, commission, bureau, or establishment of the United States, or of the State, or any political subdivision thereof) may designate one or more of the head of every department's subordinates to be a notary public who, upon duly qualifying and receiving a commission as a notary public in government service, shall perform, without charge, the services of a notary public in all matters of business pertaining to the State, any political subdivision thereof, or the United States.

Any provision of this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, a subordinate so designated and thus qualified and commissioned as a notary public in government service shall:

(1) Be authorized to perform the duties of a notary public in one or more of the judicial circuits of the State as the attorney general shall designate;

(2) Not be required to:

(A) Pay any fee to the clerk of any circuit court for filing a copy of the notary's commission;

(B) Pay any fee to the attorney general for the issuance of the notary's commission or the renewal thereof; or

(C) Furnish and file an official bond unless that bond is required by the head of the department in which the notary is a subordinate, in which event, the expense of furnishing any such bond shall be borne by the department concerned; and

(3) Not demand or receive any fee for the notary's service as a notary public; provided that where the occasion, in the judgment of the head of the department, is deemed one of urgent necessity and convenience, the notary may, but shall not be compelled to, administer oaths or take acknowledgments in nongovernmental matters, for which services the prescribed fees shall be demanded and received as governmental realizations and covered into the notaries public [~~revolving~~] special fund established by section 456-9.5, except that if that fund is terminated, the fees shall thereafter be deposited into the general fund of the State; provided further that with the prior written approval of the attorney general, the notary public, upon paying the fees prescribed by law and upon executing, depositing, and filing at the notary's own expense, the required official bond, may demand or receive the fees prescribed by law for services rendered by the notary in matters not pertaining to such public business."

SECTION 7. Section 712A-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (4) to read as follows:

"(4) There is established in the department of the attorney general a [~~revolving~~] special fund to be known as the criminal forfeiture fund, hereinafter referred to as the "fund" in which shall be deposited one-half of the proceeds of a forfeiture and any penalties paid pursuant to section 712A‑10(6). All moneys in the fund shall be expended by the attorney general and are appropriated for the following purposes:

(a) The payment of any expenses necessary to seize, detain, appraise, inventory, safeguard, maintain, advertise, or sell property seized, detained, or forfeited pursuant to this chapter or of any other necessary expenses incident to the seizure, detention, or forfeiture of such property and such contract services and payments to reimburse any federal, state, or county agency for any expenditures made to perform the foregoing functions;

(b) The payment of awards for information or assistance leading to a civil or criminal proceeding;

(d) The payment of expenses arising in connection with programs for training and education of law enforcement officers;

(e) The payment of expenses arising in connection with enforcement pursuant to the drug nuisance abatement unit in the department of the attorney general; and

(f) The payment of expenses arising in connection with the law enforcement officer independent review board in the department of the attorney general."

SECTION 8. The Hawaii criminal justice commission trust account established in 1985 pursuant to the authority granted by section 28-10.6(a)(5), Hawaii Revised Statutes, is abolished and any remaining unencumbered balance shall lapse to the credit of the general fund.

SECTION 9. The national mortgage settlement trust account administratively established in 2012 is abolished and any remaining unencumbered balance shall lapse to the credit of the general fund.

SECTION 10. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 11. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2020; provided that the amendments made to section 712A-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall not be repealed when that section is repealed and reenacted on June 30, 2022, by Act 161, Session Laws of Hawaii 2016.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1632
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII