STAND. COM. REP. NO.  816

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2015

 

RE:   H.B. No. 376

      H.D. 2

 

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 376, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE CHIEF ELECTION OFFICER,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to bolster public confidence in the election process by increasing the accountability of the Chief Election Officer.  This measure specifies that the Chief Election Officer is an at-will employee, and requires the Elections Commission to:

 

(1)  Provide written notification of any removal of the Chief Election Officer, including a statement of the reason for removal;

 

(2)  Conduct a performance evaluation of the Chief Election Officer within two months after the date a general election is certified; and

 

(3)  Hold a public hearing on the performance of the Chief Election Officer and consider the information gathered at the hearing when deliberating reappointment of the Chief Election Officer.

 

     Common Cause Hawaii and a concerned individual supported this measure.  A concerned individual opposed this measure.  

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

(1)  Changing its effective date to July 1, 2030, to facilitate discussion; and

 

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

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 376, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 376, H.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair