STAND. COM. REP. NO. 391

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 1460
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Public Safety and Military Affairs and
Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No.
1460 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE EXPANSION
     OF THE VIDEO ARRAIGNMENT AND CONFERENCING SYSTEM,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to obtain
federal grant moneys to continue phase II of the Third Circuit
Court Video Conferencing Project.

     Your Committees find that the use of video conferencing
technology in the criminal justice system provides an efficient,
effective, and yet still fair way to administer justice.  In
1997, the first circuit court arraigned 96 percent of its custody
defendants by video conferencing technology, which translates
into a $45,000 costs saving per year by the Department of Public
Safety.

     Your Committees further find that the Edward Byrne Memorial
State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Formula Grant Program
(Program), awarded the Judiciary $212,602 to continue
implementation of phase II of the video conferencing project.
The Program pledged this sum, as long as the State committed
$70,867 toward the cost of the video conferencing expansion.

     Your Committees also find that by appropriating these funds,
the Judiciary will be able to:

 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 391
                                 Page 2

 
     (1)  Maximize federal funding;

     (2)  Provide efficient justice administration; and

     (3)  Improve the quality of administrative services.

     The Judiciary supported this measure and requested that the
proposed funding be separated into two sums over the fiscal
biennium.

     Upon further consideration, your Committees have amended
this measure by:

     (1)  Splitting the appropriation over the FY 1999-2001
          biennium by appropriating $35,000 in FY 1999-2000 and
          $35,867 in FY 2000-2001; and

     (2)  Including a carryover and lapsing clause.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Public Safety and Military Affairs and Judiciary
and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your
Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
1460, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1460, H.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Finance.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Public Safety
                                   and Military Affairs and
                                   Judiciary and Hawaiian
                                   Affairs,

                                   
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
PAUL T. OSHIRO, Chair              NESTOR GARCIA, Chair