Report Title:

Hawaii Missing Children's Clearinghouse Trust Fund; Repeal

Description:

Repeals the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund; transfers fund balance to the Friends of the Missing Child Center, a private non-profit.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

410

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO MISSING CHILDREN.

 

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund, created in 1997 under section 28-122, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), has disappointed advocates for locating, protecting, and recovering missing children. Potential private donors to the fund are under the impression that the fund belongs to the attorney general, because section 28-122(d), HRS, provides that the fund is "administered by the department of the attorney general unless specifically appropriated to the clearinghouse trust fund". Therefore, there has reportedly been a reluctance on the part of private donors to contribute to the fund.

The legislature further finds that under section 28-122(a), HRS, the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund was created as a separate fund of the Hawaii Justice Foundation, a Hawaii nonprofit entity. Currently, there are no state moneys in the fund, and private donations constitute the balance of approximately $50,000.

The purpose of this Act is to repeal the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund, and to transfer the balance of the funds to the newly created Friends of the Missing Child Center Hawaii, a Hawaii nonprofit corporation, formed for the same expressed purpose of the locating, recovering, and protecting missing children.

SECTION 2. Section 28-122, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

["[§28-122] Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund. (a) There is established the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund as a separate fund of the Hawaii Justice Foundation, a Hawaii nonprofit corporation. The fund shall not be placed in the state treasury and the State shall not administer the fund, nor shall the State be liable for its operation or solvency.

(b) The Hawaii Justice Foundation shall expend moneys from the trust fund to support efforts to implement the purposes of the Hawaii state clearinghouse for missing children in accordance with this part.

(c) The trust fund may receive appropriations, contributions, grants, endowments, or gifts in cash or otherwise from any source, including the State, corporations or other businesses, foundations, government, individuals, and other interested parties; provided that any appropriations made by the State are not intended to supplant the funding of existing missing children's clearinghouse programs. Moneys appropriated to and deposited into the fund by the state, county, or federal government, private contributions of cash or property, and the income and capital gains earned by the trust fund shall constitute the assets of the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund. The public and private sectors shall work together as partners in securing contributions for the trust fund.

(d) Moneys appropriated for the purposes of the clearinghouse shall be administered by the department of the attorney general unless specifically appropriated to the clearinghouse trust fund.

(e) The aggregate principal sum deposited in the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund shall be invested by the Hawaii Justice Foundation in a manner intended to maximize the rate of return on investment of the trust fund consistent with the objective of preserving the trust fund's principal.

(f) There may be an endowment component of the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund.

(g) Any organization submitting a proposal to the Hawaii Justice Foundation for trust fund moneys shall meet all of the following standards at the time of application:

(1) Be a profit organization incorporated under the laws of the State, or be a nonprofit organization determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be exempt from the federal income tax, or be an agency of the State or a county;

(2) In the case of a nonprofit organization, have a governing board whose members have no material conflict of interest and serve without compensation;

(3) In the case of an applicant that is not a state or county agency, have bylaws or policies that describe the manner in which business is conducted and policies that relate to the management of potential conflict of interest situations;

(4) Have experience with the project or in the program area for which the proposal is being made; and

(5) Be licensed and accredited, as applicable, in accordance with the requirements of federal, state, and county governments.

(h) Priority for funding shall be given to programs and activities carried out by the Hawaii state clearinghouse for missing children.

(i) Organizations or agencies to which trust fund moneys are awarded shall agree to comply with the following conditions before receiving the award:

(1) Employ or have under contract persons qualified to engage in the activity to be funded;

(2) Comply with applicable federal, state, and county laws; and

(3) Comply with any other requirements prescribed by the Hawaii Justice Foundation to ensure the award recipient's adherence to applicable federal, state, and county laws and the purposes of this part.

(j) In the event of the termination of the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund or the dissolution of the Hawaii Justice Foundation, the remaining principal amount of only those contributions made by the State to the trust fund shall be distributed to the general fund of the State. Any other amounts remaining in the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund shall be distributed in accordance with the recommendations of the board of the Hawaii Justice Foundation."]

SECTION 3. Section 28-123, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

["[§28-123] Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse advisory board. The Hawaii Justice Foundation may appoint an advisory board to carry out the purposes of the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund. The foundation shall select members of the advisory board from the community from a list of candidates provided by the board, which shall give special consideration to community and business leaders from the private sector, the department of the attorney general, parents who have had a missing child, and persons who have been abducted as a child. The advisory board's duties shall include:

(1) Soliciting and otherwise raising funds for the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund;

(2) Establishing criteria for the expenditure of funds; and

(3) Making recommendations for grants and other specific expenditures.

The advisory board shall not be deemed to be a state board."]

SECTION 4. Section 28-124, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

["[§28-124] Annual audit of Hawaii Justice Foundation. The results of the annual audit of the Hawaii Justice Foundation shall be submitted to the department of the attorney general not later than thirty days from the date the Hawaii Justice Foundation receives the audit results. In addition, the Hawaii Justice Foundation shall retain for a period of at least three years and permit the department of the attorney general, the department of accounting and general services, state legislators, and the auditor, or duly authorized representatives, to inspect and have access to any documents, papers, books, records, and other evidence that are pertinent to the trust fund."]

SECTION 5. The moneys in the Hawaii missing children's clearinghouse trust fund as of the effective date of this Act shall be transferred to the Friends of the Missing Child Center Hawaii, a Hawaii nonprofit corporation, to be expended for the purpose of locating, recovering, and protecting missing children, and to promote community awareness of the problem of missing children.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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