STAND. COM. REP. NO. 618

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1187

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 1187 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE V, SECTION 6, OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to propose a constitutional amendment to article V, section 6, of the Hawaii State Constitution to provide for the election of the Attorney General.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from The League of Women Voters of Hawaii and one individual.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of the Attorney General and two individuals.

 

     Your Committee finds that the Attorney General fulfills a broader role than merely the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the State and Administrator of the Department of the Attorney General.  In fact, the Attorney General is the counsel for the state government.  Pursuant to section 26-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Department of the Attorney General performs the following functions:

 

"The department shall administer and render state legal services, including furnishing of written legal opinions to the governor, legislature, and such state departments and officers as the governor may direct; represent the State in all civil actions in which the State is a party; approve as to legality and form all documents relating to the acquisition of any land or interest in lands by the State; and, unless otherwise provided by law, prosecute cases involving violations of state laws and cases involving agreements, uniform laws, or other matters which are enforceable in the courts of the State."

 

     Some of these functions require independence from the Governor.  However, when the Governor has the power to appoint the Attorney General, whether it is true in practice or not, the perception that the Attorney General is solely the Governor's counsel persists.  An Attorney General may feel that his or her role is to champion the positions and decisions of the Governor, at the expense of the duties owed to other agencies and branches of the state government.

 

     Your Committee acknowledges that the election of the Attorney General may expose the office and the Department of the Attorney General to the increased risk of becoming politicized.  However, your Committee believes that this concern must be balanced with the need for an independent Attorney General who is accountable to the public.  An elected Attorney General may actually reduce the politicization of the office, by shifting the focus of the Department of the Attorney General from potentially appeasing the political agenda of the Governor toward public preferences.  Your Committee believes that further discussion regarding the comparative advantages and disadvantages of an elected Attorney General would be beneficial.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1187, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1187, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 


Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

 

 

 

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair