STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2429

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2520

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor and Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 2520 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEFENSE OF STATE EMPLOYEES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the State to defend professionally licensed or certified state employees from civil actions when the employee's actions were within the scope of employment and were not grossly negligent or wanton, as long as the employee is cooperating with the State's defense;

(2) Clarify that professionally licensed or certified state employees may employ their own attorney at the employee's own expense; and

(3) Require that if the State declines to defend any state employee from a civil action on certain grounds when the State would generally do so, the Attorney General shall file a motion to withdraw as counsel.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Government Employee Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO and Hawaii Association for Justice.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that state employees currently must seek their own counsel should legal issues arise in the course of their assigned duties. This measure will provide legal protections for State employees when exercising their professional judgement in their capacity as a public employee in the pursuit of their assigned tasks.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language that requires the Attorney General to work with the employee to amicably transfer representation to the replacement counsel, and if unsuccessful, file a motion to withdraw as counsel;

(2) Establishing a procedure that allows the Attorney General to withdraw from representing the employee without prejudicing the employee in the action or proceeding;

(3) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor and Technology that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2520, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2520, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor and Technology,

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HENRY J.C. AQUINO, Chair