2467
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO THE CONSUMER ADVOCATE.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 28-8.3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§28-8.3  Employment of attorneys.  (a)  No department of
 
 4 the State other than the attorney general may employ or retain
 
 5 any attorney, by contract or otherwise, for the purpose of
 
 6 representing the State or the department in any litigation,
 
 7 rendering legal counsel to the department, or drafting legal
 
 8 documents for the department; provided that the foregoing
 
 9 provision shall not apply to the employment or retention of
 
10 attorneys:
 
11      (1)  By the public utilities commission, the labor and
 
12           industrial relations appeals board, and the Hawaii
 
13           labor relations board;
 
14      (2)  By any court or judicial or legislative office of the
 
15           State;
 
16      (3)  By the legislative reference bureau;
 
17      (4)  By any compilation commission that may be constituted
 
18           from time to time;
 
19      (5)  By the real estate commission for any action involving
 

 
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 1           the real estate recovery fund;
 
 2      (6)  By the contractors license board for any action
 
 3           involving the contractors recovery fund;
 
 4      (7)  By the trustees for any action involving the travel
 
 5           agency recovery fund;
 
 6      (8)  By the office of Hawaiian affairs;
 
 7      (9)  By the department of commerce and consumer affairs for
 
 8           the enforcement of violations of chapters 480 and 485;
 
 9     (10)  As grand jury counsel;
 
10     (11)  By the Hawaiian home lands trust individual claims
 
11           review panel;
 
12     (12)  By the Hawaii health systems corporation or any of its
 
13           facilities;
 
14     (13)  By the auditor;
 
15     (14)  By the office of ombudsman;
 
16     (15)  By the insurance division;
 
17     (16)  By the University of Hawaii; [or]
 
18     (17)  By the division of consumer advocacy; or
 
19    [(17)] (18)  By a department, in the event the attorney
 
20           general, for reasons deemed by the attorney general
 
21           good and sufficient, declines, to employ or retain an
 
22           attorney for a department; provided that the governor
 
23           thereupon waives the provision of this section.
 

 
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 1      (b)  For purposes of this section the term "department"
 
 2 includes any department, board, commission, agency, bureau, or
 
 3 officer of the State.
 
 4      (c)  Every attorney employed by any department on a full-
 
 5 time basis, except an attorney employed by the public utilities
 
 6 commission, the labor and industrial relations appeals board, the
 
 7 Hawaii labor relations board, the office of Hawaiian affairs, the
 
 8 Hawaii health systems corporation, the department of commerce and
 
 9 consumer affairs in prosecution of consumer complaints, insurance
 
10 division, the division of consumer advocacy, the University of
 
11 Hawaii, the Hawaiian home lands trust individual claims review
 
12 panel, or as grand jury counsel, shall be a deputy attorney
 
13 general.
 
14      (d)  All attorneys retained by contract, whether by the
 
15 attorney general or a department, shall be retained in accordance
 
16 with chapter 103D."
 
17      SECTION 2.  Section 269-53, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
18 amended to read as follows:
 
19      "§269-53  Legal counsel.  [The attorney general and the
 
20 attorney general's deputies shall act as legal counsel for the
 
21 consumer advocate.]  The director may appoint or retain without
 
22 regard to chapters 76 and 77 attorneys to provide legal services
 
23 for the division of consumer advocacy.  Nothing in this section
 

 
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 1 precludes the director of commerce and consumer affairs from
 
 2 requesting and securing legal services from the attorney general
 
 3 and the department of the attorney general."
 
 4      SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the public
 
 5 utilities commission special fund the sum of $137,088.58 or so
 
 6 much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001 to
 
 7 hire two staff attorneys who shall be exempt from chapters 76 and
 
 8 77, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
 
 9      SECTION 4.  The sum appropriated shall be expended by the
 
10 department of commerce and consumer affairs for the purposes of
 
11 this Act.
 
12      SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
13 New statutory material is underscored.
 
14      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
15 
 
16                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________
 

 
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