STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1071

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 1534

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Government Operations and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1534, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR APPOINTED OFFICERS,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to remove the one-year residency requirement for all appointed officers who are department heads and deputies or assistants to a department head.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Honolulu Police Commission.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers and two individuals.

 

     Your Committees find that employing the best qualified individuals at all levels of state government serves the public interest.  Your Committees note that certain positions require specialized skills, training, and leadership abilities, and that it can be advantageous to expand the available pool of eligible candidates for those difficult to fill positions.  Your Committees find that removing the one-year residency barrier for employment of county police department heads is beneficial for the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Reinserting the one-year residency requirement for all appointed officers who are department heads and deputies or assistants to a department head;

 

     (2)  Inserting language allowing the one-year residency requirement to be waived for appointed officers who are employed as the head of a county police department; and

 

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

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Government Operations and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1534, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1534, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Government Operations and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs,

 

________________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair

 

________________________________

DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair