Supreme Court Law Library Provides Legislative History Service

If you are looking for legislative history on a particular section of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Hawaii Supreme Court Library may be able to find what you need. Complete information can be found here.

They will pull and mark acts and committee reports from the Session Laws of Hawaii and the House and Senate Journals if you provide them with a specific HRS Chapter and Section, or an Act Number and the year in which it was enacted.

You must complete and submit a request form and pay a fee for the service in advance. Rush service is available. See here for schedule of costs.

Carroll on KITV4 panel discussion on ceded lands

Rep. Mele Carroll, chairwoman of the Hawaiian Affairs Committee, will be a panelist in a live discussion on ceded lands airing on KITV4 Friday, February 20, 2009 at 7 p.m. Other guests include former Gov. John Waihee, Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, and Chair of OHA Board of Trustees Haunani Apoliona with moderator Skylark Rossetti. The show will also be broadcast online at www.kitv.com.

The Legislative Hawaiian Caucus, which Rep. Carroll is the chairwoman of, supported a full moratorium on ceded lands and introduced legislation that prohibits the state from selling and transferring ceded lands in the public trust. Carroll and the caucus support the Hawaii State Supreme Court decision which prevents the State from selling ceded lands until native Hawaiian claims to the land are settled. The United States Supreme Court is reviewing an appeal by Gov. Linda Lingle requesting that the decision be overturned.

HB1667 passed out of the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs earlier this month and must be heard and passed by Water, Land & Ocean Resources and Judiciary Committee before heading to Finance.

Supreme Court rules on Legislative Fee Transfer

The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled on December 18th that the Legislature's transfer of $3.5 million in regulatory fees into the General Fund was unlawful.  The Advertiser story is here.  Robert Thomas' blog, Inversecondemnation.com also includes a post of Justice Levinson's opinion in "Hawaii Insurers Council v. Lingle.

In summary, the Hawaii Insurers Council complained that the regulatory fee assessments imposed by the state Insurance Commissioner are unconstitutional and that the regulatory fees can not be transferred to the general fund to be used for other purposes.

The case has been heard in the Circuit Court and the Intermediate Court of Appeals, both courts ruling in favor of the Insurers.  

While the Hawaii Supreme Court rules in the state's favor on the first point, opining that the regulatory assessments were not unconstitutional, it ruled against the state on the second point, that the transfer of the fees to the general fund by the Legislature was invalid.