SB2479

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Hawai‘i Justice League Act of 2020.

The legislature finds that many attorneys graduate from law school with substantial educational debt, that prohibits many graduates from considering the practice of law in less-populated rural areas of Hawai‘i. A need exists for rural clients to hire competent attorneys and the public is better served by qualified attorneys serving underserved rural areas

The legislature finds that few new lawyers are able to practice public interest law in underserved rural areas because of the high cost of attending law school, the debt that law school students graduate with, and the high cost of living in Hawai‘i.

The increasingly high cost of attending law school requires lawyers to seek out higher-paying jobs in areas more heavily populated that allow for repayment of student loans. Loan repayment assistance programs have been successfully used in Hawai‘i to increase the number of educators serving in hard-to-fill teaching positions, and the legislature believes that loan repayment assistance programs can also be used to encourage and enable lawyers to pursue the practice of law in underserved rural area within the State of Hawai‘i.

The legislature finds that programs providing educational loan repayment assistance will encourage law students and other attorneys who seek employment in rural Hawai‘i and will enable rural communities to attract and retain qualified attorneys. This Act will provide for the partial repayment of student loans of lawyers who provide legal services in rural areas in Hawai‘i.

The purpose of this Act is to establish the Hawai‘i justice league program in the University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law to provide student loan repayment assistance for lawyers who agree to pursue the practice of law in underserved rural areas in Hawai‘i.

SECTION 2. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Chapter

HAWAII JUSTICE LEAGUE PROGRAM

§ -1 Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:

"Lawyer" means a person admitted to practice law as required by the rules of the supreme court of Hawaii.

"Loan repayment" means the payment, per year, of up to twenty per cent of a Hawaii justice league program participant's legal training costs, including the cost of in-state tuition at the William S. Richardson School of Law, not exceeding $35,000 per year, for a maximum of five years.

"Participant" means a lawyer who is receiving loan repayment assistance through the Hawaii justice league loan repayment assistance program.

"Rural area" means all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area is as defined by the United States Department of Commerce, Census Bureau.

"Urban area" is as defined by the United States Department of Commerce, Census Bureau.

§ -2 Hawaii justice league program; loan repayment assistance; established. (a) The Hawaii justice league program is established to encourage lawyers to pursue public interest work in Hawaii. The program shall be administered by the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law. In administering the program, the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law shall:

(1) Adopt rules and develop guidelines to administer the program;

(2) Identify and designate rural areas of the State as defined by the United States Department of Commerce, Census Bureau;

(3) Establish criteria and a certification process for what constitutes eligible legal service work in underserved rural areas in the State of Hawaii;

(4) Establish criteria for the selection of lawyers to participate in the program;

(5) Beginning on July 1, 2021, and no later than July 1 in each year thereafter, increase the per annum maximum loan repayment amount for a cost-of-living adjustment. The University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law shall use $35,000 the first year, multiplied by the United States Department of Labor Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the previous year to determine the adjusted per annum maximum loan repayment amount for the next year. Each year thereafter the new adjusted per annum maximum loan repayment amount shall be used to determine the per annum maximum loan repayment amount for the following year;

(6) Publish the adjusted per annum maximum loan repayment amount annually on the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law website;

(7) Define and determine compliance with the service commitments of the program;

(8) Collect and manage reimbursements from participants who do not meet their service commitments under the program;

(9) Publicize the program, particularly to maximize participation by individuals who live in rural areas of the State of Hawaii; and

(10) Solicit and accept grants and donations from public and private sources for the program, including maximizing the use of federal matching funds.

(b) The Hawaii justice league program shall partner with a lending financial institution whose operations are principally conducted in Hawaii to provide loan repayment assistance to lawyers who make the service commitment under subsection (c). The University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law shall make loan repayments directly to the financial institution under this subsection to offset the loan repayment for which the Hawaii justice league program participant would otherwise be liable. The University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law shall prioritize loan repayments in accordance with the lawyers who choose to practice law in rural areas.

(c) The Hawaii justice league program shall provide loan repayments on behalf of a lawyer who agrees to serve for at least five consecutive years as a lawyer pursuing the practice of law in rural areas in Hawaii; provided that eligible lawyers, as applicable, shall have graduated from an accredited law school within the United States; provided further that preference shall be given to graduates of the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law as applicable.

(d) Eligibility to participate in the program shall be determined by the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law on a competitive basis and in accordance with subsection (c).

(e) If a Hawaii justice league program participant fails to satisfy the participant's service commitment under subsection (c), the Hawaii justice league program participant shall be liable for the repayment of the outstanding balance of the loan to the lending financial institution under subsection (b). The University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law may seek reimbursement for any loan repayment made by the university on behalf of the Hawaii justice league program participant.

(f) In accordance with chapter 103D, the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law may enter into written contracts with collection agencies to collect delinquent reimbursements of loan repayments. All payments collected, exclusive of a collection agency's commissions, shall revert and be credited to the Hawaii justice league revolving fund. A collection agency that enters into a written contract with the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law to collect delinquent reimbursements of loan repayments pursuant to this section may collect a commission from the participant in accordance with the terms of, and up to the amounts authorized in, the written contract.

§ -3 Rules. The University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law shall adopt rules to administer this chapter. The rules shall be adopted pursuant to chapter 91.

§ -4 Hawaii justice league revolving fund. (a) There is established in the University of Hawaii the Hawaii justice league revolving fund, which shall be administered by the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law, and into which shall be deposited:

(1) Any funds appropriated by the legislature for the Hawaii justice league program;

(2) Gifts, donations, and grants from public agencies and private persons;

(3) Reimbursements of loan repayments under the Hawaii justice league loan repayment assistance program;

(4) Proceeds of the operations of the Hawaii justice league program; and

(5) Interest earned or accrued on moneys deposited into the fund.

(b) The University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law may expend moneys from the fund for the purposes of this chapter, including the operational expenses of the Hawaii justice league program."

SECTION 3. The University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law shall implement the Hawaii justice league program no later than June 30, 2021. The dean of the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law shall report to the legislature on the status of the Hawaii justice league program, including the most recently adjusted per annum maximum repayment amount, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session beginning with the regular session of 2022.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $50,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020-2021 for deposit into the Hawaii justice league revolving fund.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $50,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020-2021 for the purposes of establishing and administering the Hawaii justice league program.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2020.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2479
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII