House Committee on Judiciary (JUD) - chair: Waters, vice chair: Oshiro

Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 2:00 p.m. Conference Room 325

Testifier: Jean Aoki, Legislative Team member, LWV of Hawaii

Click here to view HB3369

The League of Women Voters of Hawaii strongly supports H.B. 3669. The Legislature enacts laws that impact all citizens, rich, comfortable and poor. Legal language being what it is, we often need the services of members of the legal community to help us understand our rights, our responsibilities and our requirements. Non-profit groups do great service to the community by helping those who need legal services but cannot afford private attorneys. But funding is always the problem that limits non-profits in their activities. This excerpt from the body of this bill expresses the League's sentiment exactly: “The legislation further finds that access to legal services is essential to a free and democratic society. The state has a responsibility to help fund the provision of legal services so that legal service providers can continue to serve the legal needs of the low-income community.” We urge the generous funding of these providers with passage of H.B. 3369. Thank you for this opportunity to testify.