STAND. COM. REP. NO. 374

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1559

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 Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 1559 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE III, SECTION 15, OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION TO ALLOW ELECTRONIC COPIES, AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO PRINTED COPIES, OF A BILL TO BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR MEMBERS OF A HOUSE IN WHICH THE BILL IS BEING VOTED UPON FOR THIRD OR FINAL READING IN FULFILLMENT OF THE FORTY-EIGHT HOUR AVAILABILITY REQUIREMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend the State Constitution to allow electronic copies, as an alternative to printed copies, of a bill to be made available for members of a house in which the bill is being voted upon for third or final reading in fulfillment of the forty-eight-hour availability requirement.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that unnecessary resources such as time, labor, and paper are used to meet the requirement that printed copies of a bill be made available for members of a house of the Legislature when the bill is being voted upon on third or final reading. This measure will make it easier for a house to meet the forty-eight-hour availability requirement and conserve resources.

Your Committee has amended this measure by specifying that the ballot question is "[s]hall the Hawaii State Constitution be amended to allow an electronic copy of a bill, in addition to the existing option to provide a printed copy of a bill, to fulfill the procedures for a third or final vote of the Legislature?".

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1559, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1559, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair