§304A-104.5  Regents candidate advisorycouncil for the board of regents of the University of Hawaii.  (a)  Thereis established the regents candidate advisory council for the board of regentsof the University of Hawaii to present to the governor pools of qualifiedcandidates from which the members of the board of regents shall be nominatedand, by and with the consent of the senate, appointed by the governor.  Theregents candidate advisory council shall establish the criteria for qualifying,screening, and presenting to the governor candidates for membership on theboard of regents.  The regents candidate advisory council shall be attached tothe University of Hawaii for administrative purposes.

(b)  Except as provided in subsection (c),within sixty days of convening its first meeting, the regents candidateadvisory council shall present no fewer than two and no more than fourqualified candidates to the governor for each vacant seat on the board ofregents that has arisen due to resignation, death, or removal by the governor;provided that for all subsequent presentations to the governor, the regentscandidate advisory council shall present no fewer than two and no more thanfour candidates for each seat on the board of regents to the governor within:

(1)  Sixty days of a vacancy that arises byresignation, death, or removal by the governor; or

(2)  One hundred twenty days prior to the expirationof a term.

The regents candidate advisory council shall bedeemed to have fulfilled its obligation under this section upon presentation ofthe names of the minimum number of candidates required to be presented for eachseat or seats on the board of regents.

(c)  When there are multiple seats vacantwithin the same county or within the at-large membership, the regents candidateadvisory council shall present candidates for seats on the board of regents tothe governor as follows:

(1)  For two seats from the same county or twoat-large seats, no fewer than four and no more than six candidates;

(2)  For three seats from the same county, no fewerthan five and no more than eight candidates; and

(3)  For more than three seats, the regents candidateadvisory council shall determine appropriate minimum numbers of candidates,which shall provide for at least three candidates for the final seat, andmaximum numbers of candidates.

(d)  In making its presentations, the regentscandidate advisory council shall:

(1)  Develop a statement that includes the selectioncriteria to be applied and a description of the responsibilities and duties ofa member of the board of regents and distribute this statement to potentialcandidates;

(2)  Screen and qualify candidates for each positionon the board of regents based on their background, experience, and potentialfor discharging the responsibilities of a member of the board of regents;

(3)  Publicly advertise pending vacancies and activelysolicit and accept applications from potential candidates;

(4)  Develop and implement a fair, independent, andnonpartisan procedure for selecting candidates to serve on the board ofregents; and

(5)  Require each candidate to disclose any existingor anticipated contracts with the University of Hawaii or any existing oranticipated financial transactions with the University of Hawaii.

Upon submission of the names of candidates to thegovernor, the regents candidate advisory council shall make available the namesof candidates to the public through the University of Hawaii.

(e)  For each board seat to be filled, thegovernor shall select one nominee from among the candidates submitted by theregents candidate advisory council.

(f)  The regents candidate advisory councilshall consist of seven members to be appointed without regard to section 26-34as follows:

(1)  One member shall be appointed by the president ofthe senate;

(2)  One member shall be appointed by the speaker ofthe house of representatives;

(3)  One member shall be appointed by the governor;

(4)  One member shall be appointed by one of theco-chairs of the All Campus Council of Faculty Senate Chairs of the Universityof Hawaii;

(5)  One member shall be appointed by the chairpersonof the Executive Council of the University of Hawaii Student Caucus;

(6)  One member shall be appointed by the chairpersonof the Association of Emeritus Regents; and

(7)  One member shall be appointed by the president ofthe University of Hawaii Alumni Association;

provided that members appointed under paragraphs (4)to (7) shall be selected from the general public and may include members of theconstituencies represented; provided further that each appointee satisfies therequirements for appointment provided in this subsection, except thatindividuals who are or have served as members of the executive councils orboards for the organizations under paragraphs (4) or (5) within the last fiveyears immediately preceding the establishment of or a vacancy on the regentscandidate advisory council for which the persons may be qualified to fill shallnot be eligible to serve as members of the regents candidate advisory council.

The regents candidate advisory council shall beselected in a wholly nonpartisan manner.  If any member has not been appointedwithin one hundred eighty days of May 1, 2007, the sitting members on theregents candidate advisory council shall make an interim appointment to fillthe vacant seat.  The interim appointee shall satisfy the requirements forappointment provided in this subsection and shall serve until the time when theappropriate appointing authority makes an appointment for the vacant seat asprovided in this subsection.  Appointees to the regents candidate advisorycouncil shall have a general understanding of the purposes of higher education,the mission of the University of Hawaii system, and the responsibilities of theboard of regents.  Appointees shall be individuals who are widely viewed ashaving placed the broad public interest ahead of special interests, havingachieved a high level of prominence in their respective professions, and beingrespected members of the community.

(g)  Members of the regents candidate advisorycouncil shall serve four-year terms; provided that the three members initiallyappointed by the governor, the president of the senate, and the speaker of thehouse of representatives shall serve for terms of two years; provided furtherthat terms for appointments of the initial members of the regents candidateadvisory council shall be deemed to begin on July 1, 2007, regardless of theactual date of appointment.

(h)  If a vacancy occurs, a successor shall be appointedin the same manner and subject to the same qualifications as the person'spredecessor.  The person appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for theremainder of the term of the person's predecessor.

(i)  The regents candidate advisory council shalloperate in a wholly nonpartisan manner.  No individual, while a member of theregents candidate advisory council, shall run for or hold any elected officeunder the United States or the State or any of its political subdivisions.

(j)  The regents candidate advisory councilshall convene its first meeting on or after thirty-one days from May 1, 2007;provided that, if thirty days after May 1, 2007, all the members to which theregents candidate advisory council is entitled have not yet been appointed, theregents candidate advisory council shall convene its first meeting upon theappointment of a majority of its members.  The members of the regents candidateadvisory council shall choose a chairperson from among themselves.  A majorityof all the members to which the regents candidate advisory council is entitledshall constitute a quorum to conduct business.  The concurrence of a majorityof all the members to which the regents candidate advisory council is entitledshall be necessary to make any action of the regents candidate advisory councilvalid.  The regents candidate advisory council shall meet annually and at othertimes as necessary.  The regents candidate advisory council shall be exemptfrom part I of chapter 92.

(k)  Members of the regents candidate advisorycouncil shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses,including travel, board, and lodging expenses, necessary for the performance oftheir duties.

(l)  Notwithstanding chapter 92F or any otherlaw to the contrary, all information required by the regents candidate advisorycouncil shall be confidential, including without limitation, all councilinformation obtained, reviewed, or considered before and after councildecisionmaking.  Confidential regents candidate advisory council informationshall include documents, data, or other information that are not of publicrecord, including without limitation, personal financial information; the namesof applicants; applications and the personal, financial, and other informationcontained therein submitted by the applicants to the regents candidate advisorycouncil; interviews; schedules; reports; studies; background checks; creditreports; surveys and reports prepared for or on the regents candidate advisorycouncil's behalf; the results of any evaluations or assessments conducted bythe regents candidate advisory council; the substance and details of anydiscussions with regents candidate advisory council members; and the substanceand details of discussions and deliberations of the regents candidate advisorycouncil and any of its committees during meetings. [L 2007, c 56, §2; am L2008, c 16, §13; am L Sp 2008, c 9, §4]

 

Revision Note

 

  "May 1, 2007" substituted for "the effectivedate of this Act".

 

Case Notes

 

  The governor's nondiscretionary duty -- pursuant to theHawaii constitution, article X, §6, §304A-104(a) and subsection (e) -- to nominateand appoint members of the board of regents of the university of Hawaii, issubject to a reasonable time standard; reasonable time is judged by thetotality of the circumstances; the passage of nearly ten months since thegovernor was presented with the regent candidate list was an unreasonableperiod of time for the governor to perform this constitutional and statutoryduty and the governor was thus subject to mandamus.  119 H. 341, 198 P.3d 604.