Report Title:
Licensed Civil Process Servers
Description:
Authorizes service of process by licensed civil process servers. Establishes the licensed civil process servers board. Requires licensing by the department of commerce and consumer affairs.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2869 |
TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to civil process servers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Chapter 634, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding eight new sections to part III to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§634- Civil process server board; appointment; qualifications; term. (a) There shall be a board of civil process servers consisting of five members, four of whom shall be appointed and serve terms as provided in section 26-34. Of the four appointed members:
(1) One member shall be a member of the Hawaii State Bar Association;
(2) One member shall be an employee of the judiciary;
(3) One member shall be a member of the Hawaii Deputy Sheriff's Association; and
(4) One member shall be a private citizen not engaged in the licensed practice of civil process service.
The director of commerce and consumer affairs or the director's designee shall be an ex officio nonvoting fifth member of the board.
(b) The members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, necessary for the performance of their duties.
§634- Powers and duties. (a) In addition to any other powers and duties authorized by law, the board of civil process servers may adopt, amend, or repeal rules, which shall have the force and effect of law, relating to:
(1) Qualifications for licensing of civil process servers;
(2) The conduct and operation of the licensed business; and
(3) The revocation or suspension for cause of such licenses.
The board shall consult with appropriate state and federal agencies and any appropriate industry or trade organization in establishing rules. The rules so established shall be on the basis of what the board deems best suited to the public interest.
(b) The board shall examine applicants for civil process server licenses, grant licenses, and revoke or suspend licenses of licensees who violate this chapter or rules adopted pursuant to this section.
§634- Procedure for revocation or suspension of licenses. (a) Actions to revoke or suspend licenses granted under this chapter shall be subject to chapter 91 and shall be commenced by a notice of hearing.
(b) The notice of hearing shall be served by certified mail to the licensee's last known business address.
(c) The licensee shall be given sixty days from the date of mailing the notice in which to answer.
§634- Civil process server; qualifications for license. The board may grant a civil process server license to any individual making written application therefor; provided the applicant:
(1) Is a United States citizen;
(2) Has a high school diploma or equivalent;
(3) Is at least eighteen years of age;
(4) Possesses a valid driver's license;
(5) Has knowledge of the application of the Hawaii rules of civil procedure;
(6) Is not presently suffering from any psychiatric or psychological disorder that is directly related and detrimental to a person's performance in the profession; and
(7) Has not been convicted in any jurisdiction of a crime that reflects unfavorably on the fitness of the applicant to engage in the profession, unless the conviction has been annulled or expunged by court order.
§634- Form of application for license. (a) Application for a license shall be made in such form as prescribed by the board, and may require a statement of:
(1) The applicant's full name, age, and date and place of birth;
(2) The applicant's residence and business addresses;
(3) Every business or occupation the applicant has engaged in for ten years immediately preceding the date of filing the application, with names and addresses of employers;
(4) The date and place of any arrest or conviction for a crime where there has not been any order annulling or expunging the sentence or for any offense involving moral turpitude;
(5) Whether the applicant has received treatment for any psychiatric or psychological disorder, or whether such treatment has ever been recommended; and
(6) Such information, including fingerprints of the applicant, as the board may require to investigate the character, competency, and integrity of the applicant.
(b) The board shall conduct such investigation of the applicant's background, character, competency, and integrity as it deems appropriate, and shall request, in accordance with section 846-2.7, criminal history records of the applicant from each jurisdiction in which the application form indicates the applicant lived for any substantial period of time. The Hawaii criminal justice data center shall provide such information to the director of commerce and consumer affairs upon request.
§634- Licenses and renewal of licenses; establishment of fees by rule. (a) The license shall state the name and address of the licensee's place of business.
(b) The holder of a license issued by the board who continues in active practice shall biennially renew the license and pay the renewal fee not later than June 30 of each even-numbered year.
(c) The holder of an expired license may have the license restored within one year of the date of expiration upon due application therefor and payment of delinquent and penalty fees.
§634- Association with government not to be implied. No licensee shall use any designation or trade name that implies any association with any municipal, county, state, or territorial government, the federal government, or any agency thereof; nor shall a licensee or employee of any licensee wear any badge or uniform capable of being associated with the badge or uniform of any government law enforcement organization.
§634- Bond. Each licensee shall give to the board a bond in the sum of not less than $5,000 executed by the applicant as principal, and by a surety company authorized to do business in the State as surety. The bond shall be in such form as the board may prescribe, conditioned upon the honest conduct of the licensee's business, and the right of any person injured by the wilful, malicious, or wrongful act of the licensee to bring, in the person's own name, an action on the bond."
SECTION 2. Section 634-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§634-21 Service of process, by whom. Except as otherwise provided, service of all process and orders shall be made by the sheriff or the sheriff's deputy, the chief of police of the county in which the service is made or the chief's duly authorized subordinate, some other person specially appointed by the court for the purpose, any investigator appointed and commissioned by the director of commerce and consumer affairs pursuant to section 26-9(j), any civil process server, or a person authorized by the rules of court."
SECTION 3. Section 634-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§634-22 Return. In all cases where any process or order of a court is served by any officer of the court [or of], the police force [or], the sheriff or the sheriff's deputies, any civil process server, or any investigator appointed and commissioned by the director of commerce and consumer affairs pursuant to section 26-9(j), a record thereof shall be endorsed upon the back of the process, complaint, order, or citation. The record shall state the name of the person served and the time and place of service and shall be signed by the officer making the service. If the officer fails to make service the officer, in like manner, shall endorse the reason for the officer's failure and sign this record. When service is made by a person specially appointed by the court, or a person authorized by rules of court, the person shall make affidavit of that service.
The record or the affidavit shall be prima facie evidence of all it contains, and no further proof thereof shall be required unless either party desires to examine the officer or person making service, in which case the officer or person shall be notified to appear for examination."
SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
INTRODUCED BY: |
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