STAND. COM. REP. NO. 737

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 605
                                     H.D. 1




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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which
was referred H.B. No. 605 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HARASSMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to create a new petty
misdemeanor offense of harassment of a family or household
member.

     Testimony in support of this bill was received from the
Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of
Honolulu, the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence,
the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline, Child and
Family Service, Parents and Children Together, and Hawaii Lawyers
Care.  Additional testimony was received from the Office of the
Public Defender.

     Your Committee finds that domestic violence often starts
with taunts, insults, and other verbal abuse, proceeding to a
series of increasingly violent acts and culminating in physical
injury or even death.  This bill will allow the courts to require
domestic violence intervention upon conviction, which may assist
in changing the offender's behavior before any serious injury can
occur.


 
 
 
 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 737
                                 Page 2

 
     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Deleting the mandatory jail sentence and other specific
          sentencing provisions; and

     (2)  Requiring the defendant to undergo domestic violence
          intervention programs while allowing the court to
          suspend a portion of a jail sentence conditioned upon
          the defendant's remaining arrest-free and conviction-
          free or completing court-ordered intervention;

     (3)  Specifying that the Family Court shall have exclusive
          jurisdiction over adults who have legal or physical
          custody of a child and who commit the prohibited acts
          specified in this measure against that child;

     (4)  Specifying that the Family Court shall have concurrent
          jurisdiction with the district court where there are
          multiple offenses for which the district court has
          exclusive jurisdiction and at least one of these
          offenses is a violation of this Act; and

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for
          purposes of style and clarity.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to
this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of H.B. No. 605, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No.
605, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary &
                                   Hawaiian Affairs,



                                   ______________________________
                                   PAUL T. OSHIRO, Chair