H.B. 1036 Summary

• Authorizes the Department of Public Safety director to maintain a list of independent civil process servers eligible to serve specific legal documents including orders to show cause, garnishments, writs of replevin, writs of possession, orders for examination, and writs of attachment or execution.

• Sets eligibility requirements for process server list placement, excluding persons currently serving criminal sentences, convicted of crimes within the past ten years, required to register as sex offenders, subject to legal restrictions preventing service, or unable to provide current State of Hawaii general excise tax license.

• Establishes that the Department of Public Safety, the State, and their officers and employees are not responsible for actions of independent civil process servers on the list and that list placement does not create private causes of action.

• Clarifies that independent civil process servers are not law enforcement officers, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, or State employees, and amends multiple Hawaii Revised Statutes chapters (501, 603, 604, 607, 633, 634, 651, 652, 654, 666) to recognize independent civil process servers as authorized process servers alongside sheriffs and police officers.

• Takes effect upon approval and does not affect rights, duties, or proceedings that matured or began before the bill's effective date.