HI SR6

Requests the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission to assemble a working group to determine which state agency or organization should administer funding for civil legal services to low- and moderate-income individuals.

Requires the working group to include representatives from the Governor, Legislature, Judiciary, Attorney General, Department of Human Services, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of Budget and Finance, Hawaii Justice Foundation, Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, and Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii.

Mandates the plan include a history of state funding for civil legal services, analysis of benefits and barriers of assigning administration to various agencies, and recommendations on the appropriate administrator and funding levels.

Notes that general funding for civil legal services decreased from $2,017,093 in fiscal year 2008 to $1,213,135 in fiscal year 2015, despite increased court fees dedicated to an indigent legal assistance fund.

Requires submission of the working group's plan to the legislature no later than twenty days before the 2016 Regular Session, with the working group dissolving on June 30, 2016.