STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1268-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: S.B. No. 2392

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2392, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CIVIL LEGAL SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Judiciary to purchase civil legal services for low- and moderate-income persons.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Judiciary; Department of Human Services; Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Office of Community Services; Hawaii Justice Foundation; Hawai‘i State Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Hawai‘i Access to Justice Commission; Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center; Volunteer Legal Services Hawai‘i; The Legal Clinic; Legal Aid Society of Hawai‘i; and four individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that legal services can be prohibitively expensive for low- and moderate-income persons. However, there are several nonprofit and volunteer organizations in the State that provide quality legal services to these persons. This measure helps to ensure that legal services are available to persons who need them but lack the resources to pay for them.

Your Committee also finds that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations' Office of Community Services testified that it has administered funding from the Legislature to provide legal services similar to this measure in the past.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the expending agency for the appropriated funds from the Judiciary to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Office of Community Services;

(2) Changing the effective date to January 1, 2222, to encourage further discussion; and

(3) 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 Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2392, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2392, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

MARK M. NAKASHIMA, Chair