Report Title:

Office of Elections; Elections Appointment and Review Panel; Campaign Spending Commission; Judicial Council

Description:

Transfers the Office of Elections, Elections Appointment and Review Panel, and Campaign Spending Commission from the Department of Accounting and General Services to the Judiciary for administrative purposes. Modifies the number of members, their terms, and the appointment process for the Judicial Council. (HB267 HD2)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

267

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

H.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to government.

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

PART I

SECTION 1. Section 11-1.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) There is established an office of elections to provide support to the chief election officer. The office shall be placed within the [department of accounting and general services] judiciary for administrative purposes. The chief election officer shall be the administrator of the office of elections. Except for exercising the right to vote, the full-time employees of the office of elections shall not support, advocate, or aid in the election or defeat of any candidate for public office."

SECTION 2. Section 11-2.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (h) to read as follows:

"(h) The elections appointment and review panel shall be placed within the [department of accounting and general services] judiciary for administrative purposes."

SECTION 3. Section 11-192, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§11-192 Campaign spending commission. There is established a campaign spending commission. The commission shall consist of five members of the general public, appointed by the governor from a list of ten nominees submitted by the judicial council. The judicial council may solicit applications for the list of nominees through community organizations and advertisements in any newspaper of general circulation. Any vacancies in the commission shall be filled by the governor with a member from the list of nominees or by reappointment of a commissioner whose term has expired, subject to the limit on length of service imposed by section 26-34.

The judicial council shall meet and expeditiously select additional persons for the list of nominees whenever the number of the eligible nominees falls below five.

Notwithstanding section 26-34, these appointments shall not be subject to senatorial confirmation. The term of the commissioners shall be four years, except that the terms of the initial commissioners shall be two years for two commissioners, three years for two other commissioners and four years for the chairperson, as determined by the governor.

The commissioners shall serve without compensation but they shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in the discharge of their duties. The commission shall be placed within the [department of accounting and general services] judiciary for administrative purposes."

SECTION 4. Section 601-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

§601-4 Judicial council. [The supreme court shall provide for the appointment of ] There shall be a judicial council which shall serve in an advisory capacity only. The judicial council shall give continuing consideration to the administration of justice in the courts of the State. It shall make reports and recommendations biennially to the supreme court and also whenever deemed advisable by the court. The chief justice shall be a member and chairperson of the judicial council. [The supreme court shall appoint, from time to time, such number of other members as it deems necessary to be fairly representative, but] The number of members on the judicial council shall not [to] exceed [fifteen, whose terms shall be in accordance with the rules of the supreme court.] sixteen. Each member shall serve for a term of three years. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority that originally appointed the departing member. The members of the judicial council shall be appointed in the following manner:

(1) Up to five members shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;

(2) Up to five members shall be appointed by the president of the senate; and

(3) Up to five members shall be appointed by the chief justice.

The members of the judicial council shall include laypersons as well as judges and lawyers. The members of the judicial council shall receive no compensation for their service but they shall be reimbursed for their traveling and other expenses incidental to attending meetings."

PART II

SECTION 5. All rights, powers, functions, and duties of the office of elections, elections appointment and review panel, and campaign spending commission are transferred to the judiciary.

All officers and employees whose functions are transferred by this Act shall be transferred with their functions and shall continue to perform their regular duties upon their transfer, subject to the state personnel laws and this Act.

No officer or employee of the State having tenure shall suffer any loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefit or privilege as a consequence of this Act, and such officer or employee may be transferred or appointed to a civil service position without the necessity of examination; provided that the officer or employee possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which transferred or appointed; and provided that subsequent changes in status may be made pursuant to applicable civil service and compensation laws.

An officer or employee of the State who does not have tenure and who may be transferred or appointed to a civil service position as a consequence of this Act shall become a civil service employee without the loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefits or privileges and without the necessity of examination; provided that such officer or employee possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which transferred or appointed.

If an office or position held by an officer or employee having tenure is abolished, the officer or employee shall not thereby be separated from public employment, but shall remain in the employment of the State with the same pay and classification and shall be transferred to some other office or position for which the officer or employee is eligible under the personnel laws of the State as determined by the head of the department, the chief justice, or the governor.

SECTION 6. All rules, policies, procedures, guidelines, and other material adopted or developed by the office of elections, elections appointment and review panel, or campaign spending commission to implement provisions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes which are reenacted or made applicable to the judiciary by this Act shall remain in full force and effect until amended or repealed by the judiciary pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes. In the interim, every reference to the department of accounting and general services or the comptroller in those rules, policies, procedures, guidelines, and other material is amended to refer to the judiciary, the chief justice, or the administrative director of the courts as appropriate.

SECTION 7. All appropriations, records, equipment, machines, files, supplies, contracts, books, papers, documents, maps, and other personal property heretofore made, used, acquired, or held by the department of accounting and general services for the office of elections, elections appointment and review panel, or the campaign spending commission, relating to the functions transferred to the judiciary, shall be transferred with the functions to which they relate.

PART III

SECTION 8. If any part of this Act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition for the allocation of federal funds to the State, the conflicting part of this Act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this Act in its application to the agencies concerned. The rules under this Act shall meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the State.

SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.