§28-8.3  Employment of attorneys.  (a) 
No department of the State other than the attorney general may employ or retain
any attorney, by contract or otherwise, for the purpose of representing the
State or the department in any litigation, rendering legal counsel to the
department, or drafting legal documents for the department; provided that the
foregoing provision shall not apply to the employment or retention of
attorneys:



(1)  By the public utilities commission, the labor and
industrial relations appeals board, and the Hawaii labor relations board;



(2)  By any court or judicial or legislative office of
the State; provided that if the attorney general is requested to provide
representation to a court or judicial office by the chief justice or the chief
justice's designee, or to a legislative office by the speaker of the house of
representatives and the president of the senate jointly, and the attorney
general declines to provide such representation on the grounds of conflict of
interest, the attorney general shall retain an attorney for the court,
judicial, or legislative office, subject to approval by the court, judicial, or
legislative office;



(3)  By the legislative reference bureau;



(4)  By any compilation commission that may be
constituted from time to time;



(5)  By the real estate commission for any action
involving the real estate recovery fund;



(6)  By the contractors license board for any action
involving the contractors recovery fund;



(7)  By the trustees for any action involving the
travel agency recovery fund;



(8)  By the office of Hawaiian affairs;



(9)  By the department of commerce and consumer
affairs for the enforcement of violations of chapters 480 and 485A;



(10)  As grand jury counsel;



(11)  By the Hawaiian home lands trust individual
claims review panel;



(12)  By the Hawaii health systems corporation, or its
regional system boards, or any of their facilities;



(13)  By the auditor;



(14)  By the office of ombudsman;



(15)  By the insurance division;



(16)  By the University of Hawaii;



(17)  By the Kahoolawe island reserve commission;



(18)  By the division of consumer advocacy;



(19)  By the office of elections;



(20)  By the campaign spending commission;



(21)  By the Hawaii tourism authority, as provided in
section 201B-2.5; or



(22)  By a department, in the event the attorney
general, for reasons deemed by the attorney general good and sufficient,
declines to employ or retain an attorney for a department; provided that the
governor thereupon waives the provision of this section.



(b)  For purposes of this section the term
"department" includes any department, board, commission, agency,
bureau, or officer of the State.



(c)  Every attorney employed by any department
on a full-time basis, except an attorney employed by the public utilities
commission, the labor and industrial relations appeals board, the Hawaii labor
relations board, the office of Hawaiian affairs, the Hawaii health systems
corporation or its regional system boards, the department of commerce and
consumer affairs in prosecution of consumer complaints, insurance division, the
division of consumer advocacy, the University of Hawaii, the Hawaii tourism
authority as provided in section 201B-2.5, the Hawaiian home lands trust
individual claims review panel, or as grand jury counsel, shall be a deputy
attorney general.



(d)  All attorneys retained by contract,
whether by the attorney general or a department, shall be retained in
accordance with chapter 103D. [L 1995, c 178, §1; am L 1996, c 52, §1, c 262,
§4, and c 270, §4; am L 1997, c 251, §3; am L 1998, c 115, §5; am L 2000, c
105, §1 and c 272, §1; am L 2004, c 57, §5 and c 58, §§2, 14(2); am L 2005, c
22, §50; am L 2006, c 306, §1; am L 2007, c 290, §5; am L 2008, c 16, §3 and c
45, §1; am L Sp 2009, c 5, §12]



 



Case Notes



 



  Discussed:  87 H. 152, 952 P.2d 1215.