STAND. COM. REP. NO.1467________

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: S.B. No. 1119
                                     S.D. 1
                                     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 S.B. No. 1119, S.D. 1 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOMICIDE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to revise the offense of murder
by:

     (1)  Redefining the offense of murder in the first degree as
          knowing or intentional killing;

     (2)  Redefining the offense of murder in the second degree
          as reckless killing with extreme indifference to the
          value of human life; and

     (3)  Revising the extreme mental or emotional disturbance
          defense to one that reduces the level of the offense by
          only one level.

     Testimony in support of this bill was received from the
Attorney General, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of
the City and County of Honolulu, the Maui County Police
Department, the County of Hawaii Police Department, and the
Honolulu Police Department.  Testimony in opposition was received
from the Office of the Public Defender.

     Under current law, in a trial for murder there is a burden
placed upon the prosecution to disprove the existence of an

 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO.1467________
                                 Page 2

 
extreme mental or emotional disturbance which reduces the charge
to that of manslaughter.  Your Committee finds that the defendant
in a prosecution for murder should carry the burden of proof to
the preponderance that the defendant was at the time of the
killing under the influence of extreme mental or emotional
disturbance for which there is a reasonable explanation.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by deleting its
substance and inserting a provision which creates an affirmative
defense that the defendant was, at the time the defendant caused
the death of the other person, under the influence of extreme
mental or emotional disturbance for which there is a reasonable
explanation.  Your Committee further amended this bill by
deleting the effective date.

     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 S.B. No. 1119, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and
recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached
hereto as S.B. No. 1119, S.D. 1, 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