HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

186

TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

Relating to an office of legislative exchange.

 

 

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

 


     SECTION 1.  The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Chapter

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE EXCHANGE

     §   -1  Definitions.  As used in this chapter:

     "Committee" means the joint legislative management committee.

     "Director" means the director of the office of legislative exchange.

     "Office" means the office of legislative exchange.

     §   -2  Establishment of the office of legislative exchange.  (a)  There is established an office of legislative exchange, which shall develop a plan and implement a program for the purpose of offering one-month internships with Hawaii's legislature to lawmakers from Pacific Island nations, newly emerging democracies in Eastern Europe, and other parts of the world.

     (b)  The office shall be under the supervision of the joint legislative management committee.

     §   -3  Director, appointment, tenure, removal, salary; staff  (a)  The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall jointly appoint a director for the office of legislative exchange who shall serve for a period of six years and thereafter until a successor shall have been appointed.  The legislature by two-thirds vote of the members in joint session may remove or suspend the director from office, but only for cause.  The committee shall fix the salary of the director.

     (b)  The director may hire necessary staff, as authorized by the committee, to carry out the responsibilities of the office.

     §   -4  Duties.  In the development of the legislative exchange program, the office, at a minimum, shall:

     (1)  Work with other governments to ascertain the extent of interest in internships with Hawaii's legislature and the funds available through those governments for such internships;

     (2)  Establish procedures by which lawmakers of other countries can apply for internships under this program;

     (3)  Formulate program guidelines and standards to ensure that every intern participating in the program receives a basic core of knowledge that the office has determined to be essential in understanding the operations of Hawaii's legislature and the legislative process;

     (4)  Identify those offices in the legislature where interns under this program can be most effectively placed for one month and develop specific internship program descriptions for each;

     (5)  Identify and apply for any available private or public grant funds that may be used to underwrite the cost of the internship program; and

     (6)  Establish an evaluation mechanism to measure the effectiveness of the program.

     §   -5  Approval; reports to the legislature.  (a)  The office shall submit the legislative exchange program plan and any subsequent revisions thereto to the committee for its approval.

     (b)  The office shall prepare and submit to the legislature, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session, annual reports on the activities of the office."

     SECTION 2.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

 


 


 

Report Title:

Office of Legislative Exchange; Established; Internships

 

Description:

Establishes the office of legislative exchange to develop a program that offers internships with Hawaii's legislature to lawmakers from other nations.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.