CA-0020 Draft 2 - General Procedures & Protocols for the Charter Commission - formatted

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CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. CA -20, DRAFT 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: Section 1. Article XV, Section 15-3, of the Hawai`i County Charter (2018 Edition), is amended to read as follows: "Section 15-3. Mandatory Charter Reviews. The charter shall be reviewed in 1989 and every tenth year thereafter. Not later than the [first] fifteenth day of [July prior to] January of the charter review year, the mayor with the confirmation of the council, shall appoint a charter commission composed of eleven members to study and review the operation of the government of the county under this charter. Commission members, no more than a majority of whom shall belong to the same political party, shall be representative of the various geographical areas of Puna, Ka`u, Kona, Kohala, Hamakua, and Hilo. The council shall appropriate funds to enable the commission to carry out its duties, including the hiring of necessary staff. No later than fifteen days after its members have been appointed and confirmed, the charter commission shall hold its first meeting. The commission shall hold at least one public hearing in each of the geographical areas. The commission may propose amendments to the existing charter or a draft of a new charter [which shall be submitted to the county clerk]. Within a year of its appointment, the commission shall submit a written report of its activities, findings and recommendations along with proposed amendments or a draft of a proposed charter to the council. Within thirty days after receipt of the commission's report and proposed amendments or draft of proposed charter, the council shall return the proposed amendments or proposed charter with any proposed alternatives. If no alternative is proposed by the council, the commission shall submit the proposed amendments or proposed charter to the county clerk within thirty days of receipt from the council. If any alternatives are proposed by the council, the commission shall accept or reject proposed alternatives and shall report any rejections to the council within thirty days of receipt of the alternatives from the council. The council may recall any alternative within ten days of rejection. When the time of recall for alternatives has lapsed, the commission shall submit to the clerk the draft of proposed amendments or of a proposed charter together with any proposed alternatives from the council which the commission did not incorporate into its draft. Upon receipt of the amendments or charter in the form as proposed by the commission, the county clerk shall provide for the submission of such amendments or charter, with any council alternatives, to the electors of the county at either a special election as determined by the commission or at the first general election following the charter review year. The commission shall prepare the language of the question to be submitted to the voters for each of the amendments it proposes. The commission shall publish not less than forty-five days before any election, at least once in at least two daily newspapers of general circulation within the county, as well as via an electronic medium, such as the Internet, a brief digest of the proposed amendments or charter, with any council alternatives, and the purpose thereof and a