STAND. COM. REP. NO. 532

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: S.B. No. 1207

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Education and Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 1207 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to specify that the settlements of claims and judgments against the university shall be payable from the moneys appropriated by the legislature.

Your Committees heard testimony in support of the measure from the University of Hawaii and the Attorney General.

Your Committees find that neither Act 115, Session Laws of Hawaii 1998, nor the recent constitutional amendment conferring constitutional autonomy to the University of Hawaii were intended to abrogate the university's eleventh Amendment immunity from lawsuits in federal court. The university is an instrumentality of the State and, therefore, continues to enjoy immunity from suit in federal court. This measure seeks to clarify that status statutorily.

Your Committees have amended the measure to clarify that, although the university is constitutionally autonomous, settlements of claims and judgments against the university may be payable from the moneys appropriated by the legislature. Language was also added allowing claims against the University of Hawaii to be dealt with in a manner comparable to how the Attorney General deals with claims against the State of Hawaii.

Your Committees have flawed the measure by deleting amendatory language to ensure further discussion on this matter.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Judiciary that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1207, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1207, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Judiciary,

____________________________

BRIAN KANNO, Chair

____________________________

NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair