Bill Text: HI HB621 | 2019 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Relating To Education.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-04 - Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JUD with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Quinlan, Say, Thielen, Tokioka excused (4). [HB621 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-HB621-Amended.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	621
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

PART I

     SECTION 1.  The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to title 2 to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Chapter    

BOARD OF EDUCATION

     §   -1  Board of education; members; number.  (a)  The board of education shall consist of thirteen members who shall be elected by the registered voters of two at-large school board districts as follows:

     First school board district: the island of Oahu, comprised of the seventeenth through the fifty-first representative districts; and the

     Second school board district: the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Kahoolawe, Kauai, and Niihau, comprised of the first through the sixteenth representative districts.

     (b)  Ten members shall be elected at-large from the first school board district.  Of the ten members elected at-large from that district, one shall be a resident of the third departmental school district (Honolulu), one shall be a resident of the fourth departmental school district (central Oahu), one shall be a resident of the fifth departmental school district (leeward Oahu), and one shall be a resident of the sixth departmental school district (windward Oahu).

     (c)  Three members shall be elected at-large from the second school board district.  Of the three members elected at-large from that district, one shall be a resident of the first departmental school district (Hawaii), one shall be a resident of the second departmental school district (Maui), and one shall be a resident of the seventh departmental school district (Kauai).

     (d)  The departmental school districts shall be as follows:

     First departmental school district (Hawaii): the island of Hawaii comprised of the first through the seventh representative districts;

     Second departmental school district (Maui): the islands of Maui, Molokai (including the county of Kalawao), Lanai, and Kahoolawe comprised of the eighth through the thirteenth representative districts;

     Third departmental school district (Honolulu): that portion of the island of Oahu comprised of the seventeenth through the thirty-fifth representative districts and the thirty-eighth representative district;

     Fourth departmental school district (central Oahu): that portion of the island of Oahu comprised of the thirty-sixth, thirty-seventh, forty-fifth, and the forty-sixth representative districts;

     Fifth departmental school district (leeward Oahu): that portion of the island of Oahu comprised of the thirty-ninth through the forty-fourth representative districts;

     Sixth departmental school district (windward Oahu): that portion of the island of Oahu comprised of the forty-seventh through the fifty-first representative districts; and

     Seventh departmental school district (Kauai): the islands of Kauai and Niihau comprised of the fourteenth through the sixteenth representative districts.

     §   -2  Reapportionment.  Upon the implementation of a new apportionment plan, the chief election officer, by proclamation issued no later than the tenth day prior to the close of filing in elections, shall designate the representative districts that comprise the departmental school districts and the school board districts described in section    -1 to comply with the new districting scheme of the plan; provided that the departmental school districts designated shall cover areas similar to those described in section    -1.

     §   -3  Qualifications of members of the board of education.  No person shall be eligible for election or appointment to the board of education unless the person is a registered voter of the school board district from which the person is to be elected or appointed and, where residency in a particular departmental school district is a requirement, a resident of the departmental school district for which seat the person is seeking election or appointment.  No member of the board of education shall hold or be a candidate for any other public office under the state or county governments in accordance with article II, section 7, of the Hawaii State Constitution; nor shall a person be eligible for election or appointment to the board of education if that person is also a candidate for any other public office under the state or county governments.  As used in this section, the term "public office" shall not include notaries public, reserve police officers, or officers of emergency organizations for civilian defense or disaster relief.

     §   -4  Election of members of the board of education.  (a)  Members of the board of education shall be nominated at a primary election and elected at the general election.  Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the candidates for the board of education shall be elected in the manner prescribed by this section.

     (1)  Nomination papers, preparation of.  The chief election officer shall prepare nomination papers in such a manner that a candidate desiring to file for election to the board of education shall be able to specify whether the candidate is seeking a seat requiring residency in a particular departmental school district or a seat without a residency requirement.

     (2)  Ballot.  The school board ballot shall be prepared in such a manner as to afford every voter eligible to vote in a school board district election the opportunity to vote for each candidate seeking election from that school board district.

              The school board ballot shall contain the names of all board candidates arranged alphabetically in a nonpartisan manner; provided that the names of candidates seeking seats requiring residency in a particular departmental school district shall be grouped alphabetically according to departmental school districts.

     (3)  Primary election.  The two candidates receiving the most votes for each available seat shall be nominated for the general election.  If, after the close of filing of nomination papers, there are only two qualified candidates for any seat requiring residency in a particular departmental school district, the chief election officer shall declare those two candidates duly nominated for the general election.  The names of those two candidates shall not appear on the primary election ballot.

     (4)  General election.  Each voter in the general election shall be entitled to receive the school board ballot and to vote for the number of seats available in the respective school board districts.

     (b)  If there is only one qualified candidate for any seat requiring residency in a particular departmental school district, after the close of filing of nomination papers, the chief election officer shall declare the candidate to be duly and legally elected.  If the number of qualified candidates for seats without a residency requirement is equal to or less than the number of seats to be filled, after the close of filing of nomination papers, the chief election officer shall declare the candidates to be duly elected.

     §   -5  Board of education; members; term, vacancies.  (a)  The term of office of members of the board of education shall be for four years beginning on the day of the special election held in conjunction with the general election of the year in which they are elected and ending on the day of the special election held in conjunction with the second general election after their election, except as provided in subsection (c).  Members of the board may be re-elected without restriction as to the number of terms.

     (b)  Any vacancy that may occur through any cause other than the expiration of the term of office shall be filled in accordance with section 17-   .

     (c)  Members of the board elected at the special election held in conjunction with the general election in 2020 shall be divided into two classes.  There shall be seven members in the first class who shall hold office for a term of four years, beginning with their election and ending on the day of the special election held in conjunction with the second general election after their election.  The remaining members shall comprise the second class and shall hold office for a term of two years, beginning with their election and ending on the day of the special election held in conjunction with the next general election after their election, and then members of the second class shall be elected to four-year terms.

     Membership in the first class shall consist of: three members who are elected with the highest number of votes from the first school board district as designated under section    ‑1, who are not required to reside in any particular departmental school district and one member elected from each odd-numbered departmental school district.  Membership of the second class shall consist of the remaining elected school board members."

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§17-    Board of education members.  (a)  The governor shall make an appointment to fill any vacancy in the membership of the board of education for the unexpired term of that vacancy whenever a vacancy occurs.  The term of that vacancy ends at the time of the next succeeding general election.

     (b)  The following procedure shall be used if a vacancy occurs, the term of which does not end at the next succeeding general election:

     (1)  If it occurs not later than on the eighty-fifth day prior to the next succeeding general election, the vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term at the next succeeding general election.  The chief election officer shall issue a proclamation designating the election for filling the vacancy.  All candidates for the unexpired term shall file nomination papers not later than 4:30 p.m. on the seventy-fifth day prior to the general election (but if that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, then not later than 4:30 p.m. on the first working day immediately preceding) and shall be elected in accordance with this section.  Pending the election, the governor shall make a temporary appointment to fill the vacancy and the person so appointed shall serve until the election of the person duly elected to fill the vacancy; and

     (2)  If it occurs after the eighty-fifth day prior to the next succeeding general election, the governor shall make an appointment to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term.

     (c)  All appointments made by the governor under this section shall be made without consideration of the appointee's party affiliation or preference or nonpartisanship; provided that the persons so appointed shall meet the residency requirement specified in section    -1."

     SECTION 3.  Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to subpart C of part IV to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§302A-    Compensation; expenses.  Board members shall be allowed:

     (1)  Transportation fares between islands and abroad; and

     (2)  Personal expenses at the rates specified by the board while attending board meetings or while on official business as authorized by the chairperson, when the board meetings or official business require a board member to leave the island on which the board member resides.

     §302A-    Organization; quorum; meetings.  The board shall elect from its own membership a chairperson and a vice chairperson.  A majority of all members to which the board is entitled shall constitute a quorum to do business, and the concurrence of a majority of all members to which the board is entitled shall be necessary to make any action of the board valid; provided that due notice shall be given to all members of the board or a bona fide attempt shall be made to give due notice to all members of the board to whom it was reasonably practicable to give due notice.  Meetings shall be called and held, at the call of the chairperson or by a quorum, as often as may be necessary for the transaction of the department's business."

PART II

     SECTION 4.  Section 11-157, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§11-157  In case of tie.  In case of the failure of an election by reason of the equality of vote between two or more candidates, the tie shall be decided by the chief election officer or county clerk in the case of county elections in accordance with the following procedure:

     (1)  In the case of an election involving a seat for the senate, house of representatives, board of education, or county council where only voters within a specified district are allowed to cast a vote, the winner shall be declared as follows:

          (A)  For each precinct in the affected district, an election rate point shall be calculated by dividing the total voter turnout in that precinct by the total voter turnout in the district.  For the purpose of this subparagraph, the absentee votes cast for the affected district shall be treated as a precinct.  The election rate point shall be calculated by dividing the total absentee votes cast for the affected district by the total voter turnout in that district.  All election rate points shall be expressed as decimal fractions rounded to the nearest hundred thousandth;

          (B)  The candidate with the highest number of votes in a precinct shall be allocated the election rate point calculated under subparagraph (A) for that precinct.  In the event that two or more persons are tied in receiving the highest number of votes for that precinct, the election rate point shall be equally apportioned among those candidates involved in that precinct tie;

          (C)  After the election rate points calculated under subparagraph (A) for all the precincts have been allocated as provided under subparagraph (B), the election rate points allocated to each candidate shall be tallied and the candidate with the highest election rate point total shall be declared the winner; and

          (D)  If there is a tie between two or more candidates in the election rate point total, the candidate who is allocated the highest election rate points from the precinct with the largest voter turnout shall be declared the winner;

     (2)  In the case of an election involving a federal office or an elective office where the voters in the entire State or in an entire county are allowed to cast a vote, the winner shall be declared as follows:

          (A)  For each representative district in the State or county, as the case may be, an election rate point shall be calculated by dividing the total voter turnout in that representative district by the total voter turnout in the state, county, or federal office district, as the case may be; provided that for purposes of this subparagraph:

              (i)  The absentee votes cast for a statewide, countywide, or federal office shall be treated as a separate representative district and the election rate point shall be calculated by dividing the total absentee votes cast for the statewide, countywide, or federal office by the total voter turnout in the state, county, or federal office district, as the case may be; and

             (ii)  The overseas votes cast for any election in the State for a federal office shall be treated as a separate representative district and the election rate point shall be calculated by dividing the total number of overseas votes cast for the affected federal office by the total voter turnout in the affected federal office district.  The term "overseas votes" means those votes cast by absentee ballots for a presidential election as provided in section 15-3.

              All election rate points shall be expressed as decimal fractions rounded to the nearest hundred thousandth;

          (B)  The candidate with the highest number of votes in a representative district shall be allocated the election rate point calculated under subparagraph (A) for that district.  In the event that two or more persons are tied in receiving the highest number of votes for that district, the election rate point shall be equally apportioned among those candidates involved in that district tie;

          (C)  After the election rate points calculated under subparagraph (A) for all the precincts have been allocated as prescribed under subparagraph (B), the election rate points allocated to each candidate shall be tallied and the candidate with the highest election rate point total shall be declared the winner; and

          (D)  If there is a tie between two or more candidates in the election rate point total, the candidate who is allocated the highest election rate points from the representative district with the largest voter turnout shall be declared the winner."

     SECTION 5.  Section 11-331, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

     "(d)  For purposes of this part, whenever a report is required to be filed with the commission, "filed" means that a report shall be filed with the commission's electronic filing system by the date and time specified for the filing of the report by:

     (1)  The candidate or candidate committee of a candidate who is seeking election to the:

          (A)  Office of governor;

          (B)  Office of lieutenant governor;

          (C)  Office of mayor;

          (D)  Office of prosecuting attorney;

          (E)  County council;

          (F)  Senate;

          (G)  House of representatives; [or]

          (H)  Office of Hawaiian affairs; or

          (I)  Board of education; or

     (2)  A noncandidate committee required to be registered with the commission pursuant to section 11-323."

     SECTION 6.  Section 11-423, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

     "(d)  From January 1 of the year of any primary, special, or general election, the aggregate expenditures for each election by a candidate who voluntarily agrees to limit campaign expenditures, inclusive of all expenditures made or authorized by the candidate alone, all treasurers, the candidate committee, and noncandidate committees on the candidate's behalf, shall not exceed the following amounts expressed, respectively multiplied by the number of voters in the last preceding general election registered to vote in each respective voting district:

     (1)  For the office of governor — $2.50;

     (2)  For the office of lieutenant governor — $1.40;

     (3)  For the office of mayor — $2.00;

     (4)  For the offices of state senator, state representative, county council member, and prosecuting attorney — $1.40; and

     (5)  For the board of education and all other offices — 20 cents."

     SECTION 7.  Section 11-425, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

     "(d)  For the board of education and all other offices, the maximum amount of public funds available to a candidate shall not exceed $100 in any election year."

     SECTION 8.  Section 12-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "(a)  Nomination papers for candidates for members of Congress, governor, [and] lieutenant governor, and the board of education shall be signed by not less than twenty-five registered voters of the State or of the Congressional district or school board district from which the candidates are running in the case of candidates for the United States House of Representatives[.] or board of education."

     SECTION 9.  Section 26-35.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "(a)  For purposes of this section, "member" means any person who is appointed, in accordance with the law, to serve on a temporary or permanent state board, including members of [the board of education,] the governing board of any charter school established under chapter 302D, council, authority, committee, or commission, established by law or elected to the board of education, under section    -4, or the board of trustees of the employees' retirement system under section 88-24, or the corporation board of the Hawaii health systems corporation under section 323F-3 and its regional system boards under section 323F-3.5; provided that "member" shall not include any person elected to serve on a board or commission in accordance with chapter 11[.], other than a person elected to serve on the board of education."

     SECTION 10.  Section 76-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  The civil service to which this chapter applies shall comprise all positions in the State now existing or hereafter established and embrace all personal services performed for the State, except the following:

     (1)  Commissioned and enlisted personnel of the Hawaii National Guard as such, and positions in the Hawaii National Guard that are required by state or federal laws or regulations or orders of the National Guard to be filled from those commissioned or enlisted personnel;

     (2)  Positions filled by persons employed by contract where the director of human resources development has certified that the service is special or unique or is essential to the public interest and that, because of circumstances surrounding its fulfillment, personnel to perform the service cannot be obtained through normal civil service recruitment procedures.  Any such contract may be for any period not exceeding one year;

     (3)  Positions that must be filled without delay to comply with a court order or decree if the director determines that recruitment through normal recruitment civil service procedures would result in delay or noncompliance, such as the Felix-Cayetano consent decree;

     (4)  Positions filled by the legislature or by either house or any committee thereof;

     (5)  Employees in the office of the governor and office of the lieutenant governor, and household employees at Washington Place;

     (6)  Positions filled by popular vote;

     (7)  Department heads, officers, and members of any board, commission, or other state agency whose appointments are made by the governor or are required by law to be confirmed by the senate;

     (8)  Judges, referees, receivers, masters, jurors, notaries public, land court examiners, court commissioners, and attorneys appointed by a state court for a special temporary service;

     (9)  One bailiff for the chief justice of the supreme court who shall have the powers and duties of a court officer and bailiff under section 606-14; one secretary or clerk for each justice of the supreme court, each judge of the intermediate appellate court, and each judge of the circuit court; one secretary for the judicial council; one deputy administrative director of the courts; three law clerks for the chief justice of the supreme court, two law clerks for each associate justice of the supreme court and each judge of the intermediate appellate court, one law clerk for each judge of the circuit court, two additional law clerks for the civil administrative judge of the circuit court of the first circuit, two additional law clerks for the criminal administrative judge of the circuit court of the first circuit, one additional law clerk for the senior judge of the family court of the first circuit, two additional law clerks for the civil motions judge of the circuit court of the first circuit, two additional law clerks for the criminal motions judge of the circuit court of the first circuit, and two law clerks for the administrative judge of the district court of the first circuit; and one private secretary for the administrative director of the courts, the deputy administrative director of the courts, each department head, each deputy or first assistant, and each additional deputy, or assistant deputy, or assistant defined in paragraph (16);

    (10)  First deputy and deputy attorneys general, the administrative services manager of the department of the attorney general, one secretary for the administrative services manager, an administrator and any support staff for the criminal and juvenile justice resources coordination functions, and law clerks;

    (11)  (A)  Teachers, principals, vice-principals, complex area superintendents, deputy and assistant superintendents, other certificated personnel, not more than twenty noncertificated administrative, professional, and technical personnel not engaged in instructional work;

          (B)  Effective July 1, 2003, teaching assistants, educational assistants, bilingual/bicultural school-home assistants, school psychologists, psychological examiners, speech pathologists, athletic health care trainers, alternative school work study assistants, alternative school educational/supportive services specialists, alternative school project coordinators, and communications aides in the department of education;

          (C)  The special assistant to the state librarian and one secretary for the special assistant to the state librarian; and

          (D)  Members of the faculty of the University of Hawaii, including research workers, extension agents, personnel engaged in instructional work, and administrative, professional, and technical personnel of the university;

    (12)  Employees engaged in special, research, or demonstration projects approved by the governor;

    (13)  (A)  Positions filled by inmates, patients of state institutions, persons with severe physical or mental disabilities participating in the work experience training programs;

          (B)  Positions filled with students in accordance with guidelines for established state employment programs; and

          (C)  Positions that provide work experience training or temporary public service employment that are filled by persons entering the workforce or persons transitioning into other careers under programs such as the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as amended, or the Senior Community Service Employment Program of the Employment and Training Administration of the United States Department of Labor, or under other similar state programs;

    (14)  A custodian or guide at Iolani Palace, the Royal Mausoleum, and Hulihee Palace;

    (15)  Positions filled by persons employed on a fee, contract, or piecework basis, who may lawfully perform their duties concurrently with their private business or profession or other private employment and whose duties require only a portion of their time, if it is impracticable to ascertain or anticipate the portion of time to be devoted to the service of the State;

    (16)  Positions of first deputies or first assistants of each department head appointed under or in the manner provided in section 6, article V, of the Hawaii State Constitution; three additional deputies or assistants either in charge of the highways, harbors, and airports divisions or other functions within the department of transportation as may be assigned by the director of transportation, with the approval of the governor; four additional deputies in the department of health, each in charge of one of the following: behavioral health, environmental health, hospitals, and health resources administration, including other functions within the department as may be assigned by the director of health, with the approval of the governor; an administrative assistant to the state librarian; and an administrative assistant to the superintendent of education;

    (17)  Positions specifically exempted from this part by any other law; provided that:

          (A)  Any exemption created after July 1, 2014, shall expire three years after its enactment unless affirmatively extended by an act of the legislature; and

          (B)  All of the positions defined by paragraph (9) shall be included in the position classification plan;

    (18)  Positions in the state foster grandparent program and positions for temporary employment of senior citizens in occupations in which there is a severe personnel shortage or in special projects;

    (19)  Household employees at the official residence of the president of the University of Hawaii;

    (20)  Employees in the department of education engaged in the supervision of students during meal periods in the distribution, collection, and counting of meal tickets, and in the cleaning of classrooms after school hours on a less than half-time basis;

    (21)  Employees hired under the tenant hire program of the Hawaii public housing authority; provided that not more than twenty-six per cent of the authority's workforce in any housing project maintained or operated by the authority shall be hired under the tenant hire program;

    (22)  Positions of the federally funded expanded food and nutrition program of the University of Hawaii that require the hiring of nutrition program assistants who live in the areas they serve;

    (23)  Positions filled by persons with severe disabilities who are certified by the state vocational rehabilitation office that they are able to perform safely the duties of the positions;

    (24)  The sheriff;

    (25)  A gender and other fairness coordinator hired by the judiciary;

    (26)  Positions in the Hawaii National Guard youth and adult education programs;

    (27)  In the state energy office in the department of business, economic development, and tourism, all energy program managers, energy program specialists, energy program assistants, and energy analysts; [and]

    (28)  Administrative appeals hearings officers in the department of human services[.]; and

    (29)  One public high school student to be selected by the Hawaii state student council as a nonvoting member on the board of education as authorized by the Hawaii State Constitution.

     The director shall determine the applicability of this section to specific positions.

     Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the civil service status of any incumbent as it existed on July 1, 1955."

     SECTION 11.  Section 88-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "elective officer" or "elective official" to read as follows:

     ""Elective officer" or "elective official":  any person elected to a public office or appointed to fill a vacancy of an elective office, except as a delegate to a constitutional convention[,] or member of the board of education, in accordance with an election duly held in the State or counties under chapter 11; provided that the person receives compensation, pay, or salary for such office."

     SECTION 12.  Section 302A-1101, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "(a)  There shall be a principal executive department to be known as the department of education, which shall be headed by [a] an elected policy-making board to be known as the board of education.  The board shall have power in accordance with law to formulate statewide educational policy, adopt student performance standards and assessment models, monitor school success, and appoint the superintendent of education as the chief executive officer of the public school system."

     SECTION 13.  Section 302A-1110, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§302A-1110  Educational districts not applicable.  The educational districts established by section 4-1 shall not be applicable to, nor alter, the school board districts or departmental school districts, established by section   -1, or the school districts established for administrative purposes by the department."

     SECTION 14.  Chapter 302A, part I, subpart B, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

PART III

     SECTION 15.  Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the appointed members of the board of education serving on the day of the effective date of this Act shall continue to serve until the election of the members of the board of education, at which time all appointed members shall be discharged from office and the elected board members shall begin their service; provided that any vacancy in an appointed member's seat occurring between the effective date of this Act and the discharge from office of all the appointed members of the board of education shall remain vacant until filled by appointment by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, pursuant to section 26-34, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

PART IV

     SECTION 16.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 17.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

 

Report Title:

Board of Education; Election

 

Description:

Implements an elected Board of Education.  (HB621 HD1)

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.