STAND. COM. REP. NO. 983

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1078

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1078 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTRONIC CITATIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to streamline and modernize the issuance and processing of traffic citations.

More specifically, the measure:

(1) Establishes a statewide electronic citation program within the Judiciary and requires the Judiciary to adopt procedures to implement the program;

(2) Appropriates unspecified sums to the Judiciary for the establishment, implementation, operation, oversight, and repair and maintenance of a statewide electronic citation program;

(3) Appropriates $51,024 to the Judiciary for the establishment of one permanent full-time equivalent accountant position; and

(4) Appropriates unspecified sums to the police departments of the Counties of Maui, Hawaii, Kauai, and the City and County of Honolulu as grants-in-aid for the establishment, implementation, operation, oversight, and repair and maintenance of a statewide electronic citation program.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation, County of Hawaii Police Department, and one individual.

Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Judiciary.

Your Committee finds that the statewide electronic citation program established by this measure will provide numerous benefits to law enforcement agencies, the Judiciary, and the general public, including improved efficiency and accuracy in the issuance of traffic citations and in related data entry and record management processes. Your Committee further finds that the resulting streamlined processes will allow law enforcement agencies to direct more resources toward other important matters, such as responding to community concerns.

Your Committee notes the written comments of the Judiciary indicating that:

(1) An estimated $370,000 is needed for the one-time cost of fully integrating electronic citations within the Judiciary Information Management System;

(2) An estimated $25,000 is needed annually for the recurring cost for licenses of Filenet, the Judiciary's document management system, to enable staff of the Traffic Violations Bureau to verify that documents received from county police departments are properly uploaded to the Judiciary's system; and

(3) $68,556 is needed to fund one permanent project specialist position, in lieu of the accountant position established in Section 8 of the measure.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the title of the permanent full-time equivalent position established within the Judiciary in Section 8 of the measure from "accountant" to "project specialist" and changing the amount appropriated for the new position from $51,024 to an unspecified amount;

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1078, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1078, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair