STAND. COM. REP. NO. 826

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1029

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 1029 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs to establish quorum requirements through its bylaws and post its bylaws on the Executive Office on Aging's website.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs and O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Executive Office on Aging.

Your Committees find that the Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs (Board) advises the Executive Office on Aging in several important ways, including identifying age-related issues and alternative approaches to solutions, producing position statements and papers, advocating legislative actions, and providing input on program development and operations. Your Committees further find that the majority of the Board's members are elders or live on neighbor islands and the Board's diverse membership is instrumental in its ability to address wide ranging issues and remain a strong advocate for the State's kupuna.

However, your Committees acknowledge that having a large number of elderly and neighbor island members has made it difficult for the Board to meet the default quorum requirement of fifty percent of members plus one for every meeting. When the Board fails to meet quorum requirements, the state sunshine law mandates that the meeting cannot be held and minutes cannot be approved. Your Committees find that by establishing lower quorum requirements in its by-laws, the Board will be able to conform with the sunshine law and continue intelligently and reliably performing its assigned duties.

Your Committees have amended this measure by requiring a majority of currently serving Board members, but no fewer than eight, to constitute quorum.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1029, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1029, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and Human Services,

________________________________ RUSSELL E. RUDERMAN, Chair

________________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair