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Attorney General urges deletion of private-attorney hiring provision and flags civil-service and transfer gaps in HB 19-47
Summary
John Cole of the Attorney General's Office told the joint committee that HB 19-47's language allowing the Office of Tourism or its advisory board to retain private attorneys should be removed, warned about civil-service-exemption time limits under chapter 76, HRS, and said the bill lacks standard transfer provisions for employees, contracts, records and equipment.
John Cole, representing the Department of the Attorney General, testified that the department opposes section 201(e) of HB 19-47 because it would permit the Advisory Board on Tourism or the Office of Tourism to appoint or retain private attorneys independent of the Attorney General's Department. "We ask that those provisions be removed from the bill," Cole said.
Cole told members that Deputy Attorneys General provide legal advice in a conflict-free and cost-effective manner and that state agencies are subject to laws—Procurement Code, Sunshine Law and UIPA—that private counsel might not routinely follow. He also flagged that civil-service exemptions created under chapter 76, HRS, typically expire after three years unless the Legislature extends them, and noted the draft bill does not include ordinary transitional provisions addressing transfer of employees, continuity of rules and policies, transfer of contracts and permits, and custody of records and equipment. Cole offered written language the committee could use if the bill moves forward and said the Attorney General's Office would be available for questions.
