SB 1190 Summary

• Authorizes the Department of Public Safety to maintain a list of independent civil process servers who can serve 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 servers, excluding individuals who are serving criminal sentences, convicted of crimes within the previous ten years, required to register as sex offenders, subject to legal restrictions, or lacking a 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 and that placement on the list does not create a private cause of action against the State.

• Clarifies that independent civil process servers are not law enforcement officers, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, or state employees.

• Amends multiple Hawaii Revised Statutes (chapters 501, 603, 604, 607, 633, 634, 651, 652, 654, and 666) to authorize independent civil process servers from the Department's list to serve various legal documents previously limited to sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, and police officers.