STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1120

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1014

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1014, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INDEPENDENT LEGAL COUNSEL,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to retain independent legal counsel where the opposing party to the reasonably anticipated litigation is the State or another state agency; and

(2) Provide that fees owed to independent legal counsel shall be paid by the State.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and two individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of the Attorney General and one individual.

Your Committees find that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has a trust obligation to faithfully carry out the mission and spirit of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, as amended, for the native Hawaiian beneficiaries. Further, to ensure the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands fulfills its trust obligations to the fullest extent, the Department may, at times, find strategic plans and alternatives that may not align with other agencies. As a result of its unique history, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands should be allowed to utilize legal counsel that will best represent the interests of the client, the native Hawaiian people. This measure authorizes the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to continue its mission to effectuate the purposes of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, as amended.

Your Committees have amended this measure by inserting an effective date of March 22, 2075, to encourage further discussion.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1014, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1014, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair