STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1867

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2021

RE: S.B. No. 548

S.D. 1

H.D. 2

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 548, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS BY MAIL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Amend the State's election laws to clarify and improve the administration of elections by mail;

(2) Establish a Statewide Voters with Special Needs Advisory Committee and County Voters with Special Needs Advisory Committees within each county;

(3) Require the Department of Public Safety and Hawaii Paroling Authority to inform individuals on parole or probation of their eligibility to vote and provide them with information on how to register and vote; and

(4) Require the Office of Elections and the county clerks to make a determination, as soon as practicable, of the optimal number and placement of voter service centers.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Elections, Disability and Communications Access Board, LGBT Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, Community Alliance on Prisons, and two individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, Honolulu Elections Division of the City and County of Honolulu, Elections Division of the Office of the County Clerk of the County of Kaua‘i, Common Cause Hawaii, AARP Hawai‘i, and seven individuals.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 548, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 548, S.D. 1, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair