STAND. COM. REP. NO. 407-00

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 2000

                                 RE: H.B. No. 2829
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which
was referred H.B. No. 2829 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ELECTIONS APPOINTMENT AND
     REVIEW PANEL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to the
Elections Appointment and Review Panel (EARP).

     The Attorney General and the EARP testified in support of
this bill.

     Your Committee finds that Act 141, Session Laws of Hawaii,
1999, established the EARP and gave it the task of, among other
things:

     (1)  Establishing performance standards for the operations
          of elections;

     (2)  Establishing policies for the administration of an
          elections' observer program; and

     (3)  Adopting administrative rules.

     However, your Committee finds that no funds were allocated
to the EARP at that time.  This measure will provide the needed
funds to allow the EARP to perform its statutorily mandated
duties.

 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 407-00
                                 Page 2

 
     Your Committee further finds that under current law the
elections officer can be removed for any cause shown.  Your
Committee believes that the elections officer should only be
removed upon a showing of good cause.  As such, your Committee
has added an amendment to section 11-1.6(g), Hawaii Revised
Statutes, to require that removal of the elections officer shall
be for good cause instead of any cause.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to
this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of H.B. No. 2829, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No.
2829, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary &
                                   Hawaiian Affairs,



                                   ______________________________
                                   ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair