STAND. COM. REP. NO. 609

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 878

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 878 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ARBITRATION,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to clarify the authority of arbitrators in arbitration proceedings.

 

More specifically, this measure authorizes arbitrators to award costs in addition to other expenses and attorney's fees if the arbitration award is authorized by law in civil actions involving a comparable, rather than the same, claim.

 

Your Committee finds that this measure clarifies that arbitrators are allowed to award "costs" such as deposition transcripts fees, witness fees, copying costs, and similar expenditures in an arbitration proceeding.  Your Committee also recognizes that arbitration procedures address a wide range of issues and disputes and that providing arbitrators the same ability as courts to award attorney's fees, costs, and other reasonable expenses for a comparable claim allows arbitrators more flexibility and discretion in making these awards.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

 

     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. 878, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 878, S.D. 1.

 

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

 

		____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair