REPORT TITLE:
Y2K claims


DESCRIPTION:
Provides protection for persons who exercise commercially
reasonable efforts to identify and find solutions for computer-
based systems that may be affected by year 2000 errors; provides
limited immunity for government against claims based upon year
2000 errors.  (HB1111 CD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        1111
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII                                            C.D. 1
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO YEAR 2000 ERRORS BY COMPUTER-BASED SYSTEMS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1                              PART I
 
 2      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that virtually every
 
 3 business and consumer in the State of Hawaii is potentially
 
 4 affected by the practice in many computer-based systems of
 
 5 utilizing the two low order digits to represent a four digit
 
 6 year.  While this is common practice for handwriting dates, such
 
 7 as 1/1/98 as an abbreviation of January 1, 1998, it will lead to
 
 8 errors in computer-based systems that handle date data in and
 
 9 after the year 2000.  This practice, along with the use of other
 
10 erroneous date-related computer logic, came to be known as the
 
11 "year 2000 problem."
 
12      The legislature further finds that in the absence of
 
13 remedial legislation, the usual methods of determining
 
14 responsibility and providing remedies for year 2000-related
 
15 errors through the courts are likely to result in a multitude of
 
16 lawsuits and the expenditure of substantial time and money in the
 
17 litigation process.  Additionally, the legislature finds that
 
18 businesses are diverting money and other resources away from
 
19 programs to remedy the year 2000 problem at this critical time to
 
20 work on litigation defense and claims preservation strategies.
 

 
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 1 This diversion of resources has the potential to impair
 
 2 completion of these essential year 2000 compliance programs.
 
 3      The pervasive nature and fixed deadline of the year 2000
 
 4 problem creates a unique situation which justifies a modification
 
 5 to the usual legal rights, remedies, and dispute resolution
 
 6 procedures available under the law.
 
 7      This part is intended to provide protection for persons who
 
 8 exercise commercially reasonable efforts to identify and find
 
 9 solutions for computer-based systems that may be affected by year
 
10 2000 errors.
 
11      SECTION 2.  The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding
 
12 a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as
 
13 follows:
 
14                             "CHAPTER
 
15            YEAR 2000 ERRORS IN COMPUTER-BASED SYSTEMS
 
16      �    -1  Definitions.  As used in this chapter: 
 
17      "Claimant" means the plaintiff in a lawsuit or a person
 
18 otherwise asserting a claim.
 
19      "Computer-based system" includes any computer or other
 
20 information technology system, and any electronic device that
 
21 controls, operates, monitors, or assists in the operation or
 
22 functioning of equipment, machinery, plant, or a device using an
 
23 embedded or installed microprocessor or chip.
 

 
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 1      "Consumer" means a natural person who, primarily for
 
 2 personal, family, or household purposes, purchases, attempts to
 
 3 purchase, or is solicited to purchase goods or services.
 
 4      "Core activities" means those business activities of a
 
 5 person which are supported by computer-based systems and which
 
 6 have been identified by the person, based on reasonable internal
 
 7 criteria, as being central to the continued operation of the
 
 8 business.
 
 9      "Respondent" means the defendant in a lawsuit or a person
 
10 otherwise defending against a claim, and includes those persons
 
11 who are liable on a claim, but who were not made a party to the
 
12 lawsuit or other assertion of the claim.
 
13      "Year 2000 error" means the failure of a computer-based
 
14 system to accurately store, display, transmit, receive, process,
 
15 calculate, compare, or sequence date and time data from, into, or
 
16 between the years 1999 and 2000 and beyond, and leap year
 
17 calculations.
 
18      �    -2  Applicability.(a)  Claims properly filed by
 
19 consumers in the small claims division of the district courts
 
20 shall be excluded from the alternative dispute resolution
 
21 procedure contained in section   -4.
 
22      (b)  The provisions in this chapter shall not apply to
 
23 claims asserted by or against the State, its political
 

 
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 1 subdivisions, a board, or a government employee, arising out or
 
 2 relating to a year 2000 error produced, calculated, or generated
 
 3 by a government computer system or other computer-based system,
 
 4 regardless of the cause for the year 2000 error.  
 
 5      As used in this subsection:  
 
 6      "Board" means any agency, board, commission, authority, or
 
 7 committee of the State or its political subdivisions that is
 
 8 created by constitution, statute, rule, or executive order to
 
 9 have supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power over
 
10 specific matters. 
 
11      "Government employee" includes an officer or employee of the
 
12 State, its political subdivisions, or board, including a person
 
13 acting on behalf of a board in an official capacity, temporarily
 
14 or permanently, whether with or without compensation.
 
15      (c)  The provisions in section    -4 may be modified or
 
16 waived by express agreement.  Any such modification or waiver
 
17 shall be explicit, and no intent to modify or waive these
 
18 protections shall be inferred.
 
19      (d)  The provisions in this chapter shall not apply to
 
20 claims for physical injury or death.
 
21      �    -3  Blanket protections.(a)  No statutory minimum,
 
22 treble damages, or non-economic damages shall be awarded under
 
23 any theory of recovery for claims arising out of a year 2000
 

 
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 1 error unless one of the following is found to have occurred in
 
 2 addition to the other facts necessary for the award of such
 
 3 damages:
 
 4      (1)  The year 2000 error was intentionally created by the
 
 5           respondent with the intent to cause damage or injury;
 
 6      (2)  The respondent had entered into an agreement to
 
 7           discover or remedy year 2000 errors with the intent to
 
 8           defraud the claimant;
 
 9      (3)  The damage or injury was caused by the dissemination of
 
10           corrupted data to recipients:
 
11           (A)  With actual knowledge that errors were occurring;
 
12           (B)  Without reasonable efforts at warning; and
 
13           (C)  Without reasonable efforts to correct the cause of
 
14                the errors.
 
15      �    -4  Procedure; alternative dispute resolution.  In any
 
16 dispute in which a year 2000 error is alleged as a claim or a
 
17 defense, within twenty days of service of the last pleading, the
 
18 plaintiff shall contact the court in which the action has been
 
19 filed and shall schedule a conference with the court.  The court
 
20 and the attendees shall discuss alternative dispute resolution
 
21 options.  The court may require each party to submit to the court
 
22 prior to the conference a statement of any objections to
 
23 alternative dispute resolution and the reasons for objecting.
 

 
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 1 The court, in its discretion or upon motion by a party, during
 
 2 the conference or at a later date, may order the parties to
 
 3 participate in an alternative dispute resolution process subject
 
 4 to conditions imposed by the court.  The cost for the alternative
 
 5 dispute resolution process shall be apportioned in accordance
 
 6 with the agreement of the parties, or as otherwise ordered by the
 
 7 court.
 
 8      �    -5  Software and hardware manufacturer liability.
 
 9 Nothing in this chapter shall relieve a computer software or
 
10 hardware manufacturer or vendor of any liability for a year 2000
 
11 error.  A computer software or hardware manufacturer or vendor
 
12 shall be directly liable to a person harmed by a year 2000 error
 
13 to the same extent that the computer software or hardware
 
14 manufacturer or vendor would be liable to a person in the absence
 
15 of the provisions of this chapter.  As used in the section,
 
16 "computer software or hardware manufacturer or vendor" shall not
 
17 include the State, its political subdivisions, a board, or a
 
18 government employee.
 
19      �    -6  Liability.(a)  All alternative dispute resolution
 
20 awards and all judgments in a court proceeding which award
 
21 damages on a claim arising out of a year 2000 error shall state
 
22 whether the claimant and the respondent engaged in commercially
 
23 reasonable efforts to avoid the impact of year 2000 errors.
 

 
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 1      (b)  The trier of fact shall make an independent
 
 2 determination that the actions taken by a claimant or respondent
 
 3 constitute commercially reasonable efforts, based on the totality
 
 4 of the circumstances, and notwithstanding that the party's
 
 5 efforts failed to avoid all year 2000 errors affecting its
 
 6 computer-based systems.  In making the determination, the trier
 
 7 of fact shall examine the party's efforts as a whole and shall
 
 8 take into consideration the sophistication of and resources
 
 9 available to the party.  The burden of proof shall be on the
 
10 party claiming that it engaged in commercially reasonable
 
11 efforts, and the standard of proof shall be a preponderance of
 
12 the evidence.
 
13      (c)  A claimant or respondent shall not be found to have
 
14 undertaken commercially reasonable efforts unless it has, at a
 
15 minimum:
 
16      (1)  Implemented the remediation steps in timely fashion;
 
17           and
 
18      (2)  Complied with any data formats established by a
 
19           government regulation, a governing body (such as the
 
20           National Automated Clearing House Association for
 
21           certain financial transactions) or reasonably requested
 
22           by the other party where the parties exchange
 
23           electronic information which was impacted by the
 
24           alleged year 2000 error.
 

 
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 1      (d)  "Remediation steps" means, for a person addressing
 
 2 potential year 2000 errors, awareness, assessment, renovation,
 
 3 validation, and implementation.  The reasonableness of those
 
 4 steps shall be determined by the circumstances, including the
 
 5 sophistication of and resources available to the person carrying
 
 6 them out.
 
 7      (1)  The awareness step generally includes providing any
 
 8           supervisory personnel with information about the year
 
 9           2000 problem and the designation of personnel to deal
 
10           with the person's potential for year 2000 errors.
 
11      (2)  The assessment phase generally includes a determination
 
12           of the impact of potential year 2000 errors on the
 
13           person (including those caused by computer-based
 
14           systems controlled by the person and those controlled
 
15           by others), identification of core activities, a
 
16           physical inventory of potentially affected computer-
 
17           based systems supporting core activities,
 
18           prioritization of items with potential year 2000 errors
 
19           to create a remediation schedule, determining whether
 
20           the item records dates or processes date information,
 
21           identifying and obtaining resources to address
 
22           potential year 2000 errors, the development of a
 
23           remediation strategy for each item with the potential
 

 
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 1           for year 2000 errors, and the development of a recovery
 
 2           plan to handle those year 2000 errors which are
 
 3           reasonably likely to occur.
 
 4      (3)  The renovation step generally includes the conversion,
 
 5           upgrade, replacement, or elimination of computer-based
 
 6           systems supporting core activities which are subject to
 
 7           year 2000 errors.
 
 8      (4)  The validation step generally includes validating
 
 9           existing, converted, or replaced computer-based systems
 
10           supporting core activities.  "Validating" means:
 
11           (A)  Testing the item to actually simulate the
 
12                transition from December 31, 1999, to January 1,
 
13                2000, the processing of other date data which may
 
14                reasonably be expected to trigger a year 2000
 
15                error, and a determination that no year 2000 error
 
16                occurs; and
 
17           (B)  Where the item has been renovated to correct known
 
18                or suspected year 2000 errors, testing to assure
 
19                that the item continues to properly perform its
 
20                functions without error.  This testing includes
 
21                but is not limited to integration and acceptance
 
22                testing.  When testing is not reasonably possible,
 
23                the validation step consists of securing
 

 
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 1                documentation from the developer or vendor of a
 
 2                computer-based system supporting core activities
 
 3                that it is free of potential year 2000 errors.
 
 4                This includes vendors of core business functions,
 
 5                services, or supplies to understand the risk posed
 
 6                by the person's supply chain.
 
 7      (5)  The implementation step generally includes the placing
 
 8           of renovated or replaced computer-based systems into
 
 9           production use.  Where a computer-based system cannot
 
10           reasonably be renovated, the implementation step
 
11           generally includes the implementation of a work-around
 
12           designed to avoid the effect of the potential year 2000
 
13           error.  Additionally, this step includes the
 
14           implementation of contingency or recovery plans for
 
15           those year 2000 errors which are reasonably likely to
 
16           occur.
 
17 Where applicable, the person's highest level of management should
 
18 determine what efforts are to be made and what resources are to
 
19 be used in carrying out the remediation steps, and should monitor
 
20 the progress of the remediation steps.
 
21      (e)  Upon a finding that the respondent engaged in
 
22 commercially reasonable efforts, the respondent's liability shall
 
23 be limited to the claimant's out of pocket expenses directly
 
24 caused by the year 2000 error.
 

 
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 1      (f)  Upon a finding that the respondent failed to engage in
 
 2 commercially reasonable efforts, the respondent shall be liable
 
 3 for economic damages directly caused by the year 2000 error.
 
 4      (g)  The amount awarded to any claimant shall be reduced to
 
 5 the extent that the claimant's failure to engage in commercially
 
 6 reasonable efforts contributed in whole or part to the damages
 
 7 sustained.  Where two or more respondents are found liable for
 
 8 the claimant's damages, the proportion of liability assessed
 
 9 against each respondent shall be proportionately adjusted based
 
10 on the extent to which it engaged in commercially reasonable
 
11 efforts.
 
12      �  -7  Consumer credit protection.  A credit reporting
 
13 agency or a creditor doing business in the State shall not report
 
14 negative credit information about a consumer if it knew or should
 
15 have known that the consumer was unable to meet his or her
 
16 financial obligation due to a year 2000 error by a computer-based
 
17 system, including the inability of the consumer to transact
 
18 financial business or make payments due to a year 2000 error by a
 
19 computer-based system."
 
20 
 
21                              PART II
 
22      SECTION 3.  The legislature finds that Act 213, Session Laws
 
23 of Hawaii 1998, established limited government immunity from
 

 
Page 12                                                    1111
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 1 claims arising out of year 2000 errors generated by a government
 
 2 computer system.  The legislature further finds that the intent
 
 3 of this part is to extend the time frame covered by the immunity
 
 4 to beyond June 30, 1999, and expand the scope of the immunity to
 
 5 afford protection as to claims arising out of year 2000 errors
 
 6 produced, calculated, or generated by a government computer
 
 7 system or other computer-based system.  However, the legislature
 
 8 notes that this part shall not be deemed to impose any increased
 
 9 obligation, duty, or standard of care than is otherwise
 
10 applicable under federal or state law, nor is it intended to
 
11 create any new cause of action or remedy.
 
12      Thus, the purpose of this part is to amend the immunity
 
13 provisions established by Act 213, Session Laws of Hawaii 1998,
 
14 including the protection afforded to persons affected by a year
 
15 2000 error generated by a government computer system.
 
16      SECTION 4.  Section 662-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
17 amended to read as follows:
 
18      "�662-15  Exceptions.  This chapter shall not apply to:
 
19      (1)  Any claim based upon an act or omission of an employee
 
20           of the State, exercising due care, in the execution of
 
21           a statute or regulation, whether or not such statute or
 
22           regulation is valid, or based upon the exercise or
 
23           performance or the failure to exercise or perform a
 

 
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 1           discretionary function or duty on the part of a state
 
 2           officer or employee, whether or not the discretion
 
 3           involved has been abused;
 
 4      (2)  Any claim arising in respect of the assessment or
 
 5           collection of any tax, or the detention of any goods or
 
 6           merchandise by law enforcement officers;
 
 7      (3)  Any claim for which a remedy is provided elsewhere in
 
 8           the laws of the State;
 
 9      (4)  Any claim arising out of assault, battery, false
 
10           imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution,
 
11           abuse of process, libel, slander, misrepresentation,
 
12           deceit, or interference with contract rights;
 
13      (5)  Any claim arising out of the combatant activities of
 
14           the Hawaii national guard and Hawaii state defense
 
15           force during time of war, or during the times the
 
16           Hawaii national guard is engaged in federal service
 
17           pursuant to sections 316, 502, 503, 504, 505, or 709 of
 
18           Title 32 of the United States Code;
 
19      (6)  Any claim arising in a foreign country;
 
20      (7)  Any claim arising out of the acts or omissions of any
 
21           boating enforcement officer; or
 
22      (8)  Any claim arising out of [or based upon any failure of
 
23           or error produced, calculated, or generated by a
 

 
Page 14                                                    1111
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 1           government computer system, which failure or error
 
 2           occurred prior to June 30, 1999 as a result of the
 
 3           system's not being year 2000 compliant, regardless of
 
 4           the cause for the system's not being year 2000
 
 5           compliant.  "Year 2000 compliant" means, with respect
 
 6           to a government computer system, that the system
 
 7           accurately processes date and time data (including, but
 
 8           not limited to, calculating, comparing, projecting, and
 
 9           sequencing) from, into, and between the twentieth and
 
10           twenty-first centuries and the years 1999 and 2000, and
 
11           leap year calculations.] a year 2000 error produced,
 
12           calculated, or generated by a government computer
 
13           system or other computer-based system, regardless of
 
14           the cause for the year 2000 error.
 
15                "Government computer system" means a computer-
 
16           based system owned or operated by or on behalf of the
 
17           State, its political subdivisions, or a board.
 
18                "Computer- based system" includes any computer or
 
19           other information technology system, and any electronic
 
20           device that controls, operates, monitors, or assists in
 
21           the operation or functioning of equipment, machinery,
 
22           plant, or a device using an embedded or installed
 
23           microprocessor or chip.
 

 
Page 15                                                    1111
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 1                "Year 2000 error" is the failure of a computer-
 
 2           based system to accurately store, display, transmit,
 
 3           receive, process, calculate, compare, or sequence date
 
 4           and time data from, into, or between the twentieth and
 
 5           twenty-first centuries, the years 1999 and 2000 and
 
 6           beyond, and leap year calculations."
 
 7      SECTION 5.  Chapter 662E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 8 amended to read as follows:
 
 9                        "CHAPTER [[]662E[]]
 
10      [GOVERNMENT COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND YEAR 2000 COMPLIANCE]
 
11             CLAIMS AGAINST GOVERNMENT ARISING OUT OF
 
12                         YEAR 2000 ERRORS
 
13      [[]�662E-1[]]  Definitions.  As used in this chapter:
 
14      "Board" means any agency, board, commission, authority, or
 
15 committee of the State or its political subdivisions that is
 
16 created by constitution, statute, rule, or executive order to
 
17 have supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power over
 
18 specific matters.
 
19      "Computer-based system" includes any computer or other
 
20 information technology system, and any electronic device that
 
21 controls, operates, monitors, or assists in the operation or
 
22 functioning of equipment, machinery, plant, or a device using an
 
23 embedded or installed microprocessor or chip.
 

 
Page 16                                                    1111
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 1      "Government computer system" [includes any computer or other
 
 2 information technology system] means a computer-based system
 
 3 owned or operated by or on behalf of the State, its political
 
 4 subdivisions, or a board.
 
 5      "Government employee" includes an officer or employee of the
 
 6 State, its political subdivisions, or a board, including a person
 
 7 acting on behalf of a board in an official capacity, temporarily
 
 8 or permanently, whether with or without compensation.
 
 9      ["Year 2000 compliant" means, with respect to a government
 
10 computer system, that the system accurately processes date and
 
11 time data (including, but not limited to, calculating, comparing,
 
12 projecting, and sequencing) from, into, and between the twentieth
 
13 and twenty-first centuries and the years 1999 and 2000, and leap
 
14 year calculations.]
 
15      "Year 2000 error" is the failure of a computer-based system
 
16 to accurately store, display, transmit, receive, process,
 
17 calculate, compare, or sequence date and time data from, into, or
 
18 between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the years 1999
 
19 and 2000 and beyond, and leap year calculations."
 
20      SECTION 6.  Section 662E-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
21 amended to read as follows:
 
22      [[]�662E-2[]]  Immunity against suits.  [No action,
 
23 including, without limitation, any action for declaratory or
 

 
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 1 injunctive relief, may be brought against any person including,
 
 2 but not limited to, the State, its political subdivisions, a
 
 3 board, or a government employee, arising out of or based upon any
 
 4 failure of or error produced, calculated, or generated by a
 
 5 government computer system, which failure or error occurred prior
 
 6 to June 30, 1999 as a result of the system's not being year 2000
 
 7 compliant, regardless of the cause for the system's not being
 
 8 year 2000 compliant.]
 
 9      (a)  No action, including without limitation, any action for
 
10 declaratory or injunctive relief, may be brought against the
 
11 State, its political subdivisions, a board, or a government
 
12 employee, arising out of a year 2000 error produced, calculated,
 
13 or generated by a government computer system or other computer-
 
14 based system, regardless of the cause for the year 2000 error,
 
15 unless the error is the result of gross negligence on the part of
 
16 the defendant State, political subdivision, board, or government
 
17 employee.  Failure to fix or prevent an error after a timely,
 
18 good faith effort to do so shall not constitute gross negligence
 
19 for the purpose of this subsection.
 
20      (b)  Except as provided in this section, no action,
 
21 including without limitation, any action for declaratory or
 
22 injunctive relief, may be brought against any person arising
 
23 solely out of a year 2000 error produced, calculated, or
 

 
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 1 generated by a government computer system, regardless of the
 
 2 cause for the year 2000 error; provided, however, that nothing in
 
 3 this subsection shall relieve the manufacturer of the government
 
 4 computer system or the computer software used by the system, or
 
 5 the contractor who provided or serviced the government computer
 
 6 system or the computer software used by the system, of any
 
 7 liability for the year 2000 error.  The manufacturer of the
 
 8 government computer system or the computer software used by the
 
 9 system, or the contractor who provided or serviced the government
 
10 computer system or the computer software used by the system,
 
11 shall be directly liable to a person harmed by a year 2000 error,
 
12 as well as the State, a political subdivision, a board, or a
 
13 government employee, to the same extent that the manufacturer of
 
14 the government computer system or the computer software used by
 
15 the system, or the contractor who provided or serviced the
 
16 government computer system or the computer software used by the
 
17 system would be liable to persons in the absence of the
 
18 provisions of this subsection.  As used in this subsection:
 
19      "Contractor" means a person having a contract with a
 
20 governmental body, and does not include the State, its political
 
21 subdivisions, a board, or a government employee.
 
22      "Manufacturer of a government computer system or the
 
23 computer software" does not include the State, its political
 
24 subdivisions, a board, or a government employee.
 

 
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 1      The provisions in this chapter shall not apply to any claim
 
 2 for physical injury or death."
 
 3      SECTION 7.  Section 662E-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 4 amended to read as follows:
 
 5      "[[]�662E-3[]]  Remedial measures.  Nothing in this chapter
 
 6 shall be deemed to prevent the State, its political subdivisions,
 
 7 a board, or a government employee, from taking steps to remedy
 
 8 [any failure of or] a year 2000 error produced, calculated, or
 
 9 generated by a government computer system [as a result of the
 
10 system's not being year 2000 compliant,] once the [failure or]
 
11 error [is] has been verified."
 
12      SECTION 8.  Section 662E-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
13 amended to read as follows:
 
14      "[[]�662E-4[]]  Exceptions.  Nothing in this chapter shall
 
15 be deemed to provide immunity or release from liability to any
 
16 person who:
 
17      (1)  Deliberately tampers with a government computer system
 
18           for the purpose of [preventing it from being year 2000
 
19           compliant;] causing the system to produce, calculate,
 
20           or generate a year 2000 error; provided, however, that
 
21           the immunity or release from liability shall remain and
 
22           not be set aside where the year 2000 error arises out
 

 
 
 
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 1           of a test performed to determine whether a government
 
 2           computer system will produce, calculate, or generate a
 
 3           year 2000 error; or
 
 4      (2)  Receives and fails to immediately return a benefit
 
 5           which the person is not legally entitled to [arising
 
 6           out of or based upon any failure of or error produced,
 
 7           calculated, or generated by a government computer
 
 8           system as a result of the system's not being year 2000
 
 9           complaint], which benefit was provided to the person as
 
10           a result of a year 2000 error produced, calculated, or
 
11           generated by a government computer system."
 
12      SECTION 9.  If any provision of this Act, or the application
 
13 thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
 
14 invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
 
15 the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision
 
16 or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are
 
17 severable.
 
18      SECTION 10.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
19 New statutory material is underscored.
 
20      SECTION 11.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval;
 
21 provided that section 4 of this Act shall take effect retroactive
 
22 to the effective date of Act 213, Session Laws of Hawaii, 1998;
 
23 and provided further that this Act shall not affect any claim
 

 
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 1 which has been filed in the courts on or before the date of its
 
 2 enactment.  Section 2 of this Act shall be repealed on December
 
 3 31, 2003; provided that nothing in section 2 of this Act shall be
 
 4 deemed to affect rights and obligations which have accrued as of
 
 5 that date.  Chapter 662E and section 662-15(8), Hawaii Revised
 
 6 Statutes, shall be repealed on December 31, 2003.