REPORT TITLE:
Edu.; Legal Assistance


DESCRIPTION:
Allows the Board of Education to hire its own attorneys for
issues involving developmentally disabled children.  (SD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        669
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO EDUCATION.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  In 1993, Felix v. Waihee determined that
 
 2 developmentally disabled children were not receiving necessary
 
 3 educational and mental health services.  Since that time, the
 
 4 department of education has been unable to obtain sufficient
 
 5 legal assistance to meet the growing legal needs due to the
 
 6 influx of law suits against the special education division.  The
 
 7 legislature finds that the current legal assistance in the
 
 8 department of education is insufficient.  
 
 9      The purpose of this Act is to allow the board of education
 
10 to hire its own legal counsel for the purposes of assisting the
 
11 department of education in issues involving developmentally
 
12 disabled children.
 
13      SECTION 2.  Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
14 amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated
 
15 and to read as follows:
 
16      "�302A-    Department of education attorneys.  The board of
 
17 education may appoint or retain by contract one or more attorneys
 
18 who are independent of the attorney general, to provide legal
 
19 services to the department of education for issues involving
 

 
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 1 developmentally disabled children, including:
 
 2      (1)  Representation for the department of education in civil
 
 3           actions involving developmentally disabled children, to
 
 4           which the department is a party, either directly or
 
 5           through the acts or omissions of its officers or
 
 6           employees; and
 
 7      (2)  Advice and assistance to ensure the lawful and
 
 8           efficient administration and operation of the
 
 9           department of education in the area of developmentally
 
10           disabled children.
 
11 The board of education may fix the compensation of the attorney's
 
12 appointed pursuant to this section.  Attorneys appointed or
 
13 retained by contract shall be exempted from chapters 76, 77, and
 
14 89."
 
15      SECTION 3.  Section 28-8.3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
16 amended as follows:
 
17      1.  By amending subsection (a) to read:
 
18      "(a)  No department of the State other than the attorney
 
19 general may employ or retain any attorney, by contract or
 
20 otherwise, for the purpose of representing the State or the
 
21 department in any litigation, rendering legal counsel to the
 
22 department, or drafting legal documents for the department;
 
23 provided that the foregoing provision shall not apply to the
 

 
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 1 employment or retention of attorneys:
 
 2      (1)  By the public utilities commission, the labor and
 
 3           industrial relations appeals board, and the Hawaii
 
 4           labor relations board;
 
 5      (2)  By any court or judicial or legislative office of the
 
 6           State;
 
 7      (3)  By the legislative reference bureau;
 
 8      (4)  By any compilation commission that may be constituted
 
 9           from time to time;
 
10      (5)  By the real estate commission for any action involving
 
11           the real estate recovery fund;
 
12      (6)  By the contractors license board for any action
 
13           involving the contractors recovery fund;
 
14      (7)  By the trustees for any action involving the travel
 
15           agency recovery fund;
 
16      (8)  By the office of Hawaiian affairs;
 
17      (9)  By the department of commerce and consumer affairs for
 
18           the enforcement of violations of chapters 480 and 485;
 
19     (10)  As grand jury counsel;
 
20     (11)  By the Hawaiian home lands trust individual claims
 
21           review panel;
 
22     (12)  By the Hawaii health systems corporation or any of its
 
23           facilities;
 

 
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 1     (13)  By the auditor;
 
 2     (14)  By the office of ombudsman;
 
 3     (15)  By the insurance division;
 
 4     (16)  By the University of Hawaii; [or]
 
 5     (17)  By the board of education; or
 
 6    [(17)] (18)  By a department, in the event the attorney
 
 7           general, for reasons deemed by the attorney general
 
 8           good and sufficient, declines, to employ or retain an
 
 9           attorney for a department; provided that the governor
 
10           thereupon waives the provision of this section."
 
11      2.  By amending subsection (c) to read:
 
12      "(c)   Every attorney employed by any department on a full-
 
13 time basis, except an attorney employed by the public utilities
 
14 commission, the labor and industrial relations appeals board, the
 
15 Hawaii labor relations board, the office of Hawaiian affairs, the
 
16 Hawaii health systems corporation, the department of commerce and
 
17 consumer affairs in prosecution of consumer complaints, insurance
 
18 division, the University of Hawaii, the board of education, the
 
19 Hawaiian home lands trust individual claims review panel, or as
 
20 grand jury counsel, shall be a deputy attorney general."
 
21      SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
22 New statutory material is underscored.
 
23      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.