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Committee moves Hawaii child-advocate bill to attorney general’s office, sets salary and passes with amendments
Summary
The House Committee on Legislative Management voted to transfer HB 1805 (child welfare) to the Attorney General’s Office, accept AG-recommended changes narrowing the bill’s jurisdictional language, set the child advocate salary at 90% of the Department of Health deputy director, and passed the measure with committee amendments.
The House Committee on Legislative Management voted Feb. 18 to transfer HB 1805, a bill relating to child welfare oversight, to the Attorney General’s Office and to adopt amendments intended to narrow the scope of the child advocate’s jurisdiction.
The committee chair said the committee would “put this in the attorney general’s office,” accept the attorney general’s suggested amendments on the definition and scope of agency jurisdiction, and “set the salary at 90% of the deputy director of the Department of Health.”
During testimony, Deputy Attorney General Tiffany Chang told the panel she and her office had concerns about how the bill defined “state agency.” “We were concerned about the implications about any separation of powers and supremacy clause issues because the definition did not specifically exclude the heads of the executive, the judiciary, or any federal or multistate entities,” Chang said, and suggested as one option the placement of a child-advocate office within the Office of the Ombudsman while acknowledging that office’s earlier submitted testimony.
Farrah Marie Gomes, associate vice president for student affairs at the University of Hawaiʻi System, said the university supports “the legislature’s goal of strengthening child welfare oversight,” and thanked members for the opportunity to provide written comments.
On return from a brief recess the committee recommended passage with amendments. The committee’s recorded responses during the roll call were: the chair — aye; the vice chair — aye; Rep. Kahaloha — aye; Rep. Morikawa — aye; Rep. Matsumoto — aye. The chair’s recommendation was adopted.
The committee set an administrative effective date in its committee report; implementation details and any further statutory drafting will reflect the Attorney General’s office amendments the committee accepted.
The committee did not provide additional implementation timelines at the meeting; the bill moves forward to subsequent legislative processing with the committee’s amendments.
