Bill Text: HI SB1309 | 2012 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Lieutenant Governor; Secretary of State Functions; Fees; Special Fund

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-12-01 - Carried over to 2012 Regular Session. [SB1309 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-SB1309-Amended.html

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STAND. COM. REP. NO. 157

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1309

       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 Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1309 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR SPECIAL FUND,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to facilitate the Lieutenant Governor's performance of Secretary of State functions by:

 

     (1)  Creating the lieutenant governor special fund (special fund);

 

     (2)  Establishing fees for apostilles and certifications, copy services, and other Secretary of State services, for deposit into the special fund; and

 

     (3)  Appropriating funds to carry out the purpose of the Act, including the hiring of staff.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.

 

     Your Committee finds that this measure provides resources for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to invest in software and personnel to streamline its Secretary of State functions and reduce the Office's reliance on general funds.  The special fund and service fees are intended to make the operations of the Lieutenant Governor's Office fiscally self-sustaining by requiring those who benefit from these services to bear the costs.

 

     However, your Committee also finds that it is uncertain whether the special fund would in fact be self-sustaining and, if not, to what degree the Office of the Lieutenant Governor would continue to require general funds for its operations.

 

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Deleting the provisions that establish the special fund and make appropriations therefrom;

 

     (2)  Providing that fees charged by the Lieutenant Governor shall be deposited into the general fund;

 

     (3)  Specifying the Lieutenant Governor's authority to issue apostilles;

 

     (4)  Requiring the Auditor to analyze the establishment of the special fund, including the degree to which the special fund would cover the costs of the Lieutenant Governor's Secretary of State functions, and to report its findings to the 2012 Regular Session of the Legislature; and

 

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1309, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1309, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair