STAND. COM. REP. NO. 904

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 1254
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B.
No. 1254 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is
to repeal the statute of limitations for class A felonies,
criminal conspiracy to commit a class A felony and criminal
solicitation to commit a class A felony so that prosecutions for
these offenses could be begun at any time.

     Your Committee finds that under current law, prosecution for
class A felonies must be commenced within six years from the time
in which the offense was committed.  Your Committee believes that
this period of limitations is inadequate to fully investigate and
address the serious nature of these types of felonies.  Your
Committee further finds that the increasing sophistication of
forensic science means that new evidence of old crimes may become
available many years after the crime has been committed.
However, your Committee also recognizes that a statute of
limitations serves to protect individuals from stale prosecution
and erroneous convictions.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of
Honolulu, the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of
Hawaii, the Honolulu Police Department, the National Center for
Victims of Crime, the Sex Abuse Treatment Center, and three

 
a                                                     
                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 904
                                   Page 2


private citizens.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was
submitted by the Office of the Public Defender.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by:

     (1)  Increasing the statute of limitations for class A
          felonies from six years to ten years;

     (2)  Increasing the statute of limitations for class B
          felonies from three years to six years; 

     (3)  Providing that the statute of limitations for class C
          felonies remains at three years;

     (4)  Providing that any prosecution for an attempted class A
          felony, criminal conspiracy to commit a class A felony,
          and criminal solicitation to commit a class A felony
          must be commenced within ten years after it is
          committed; and

     (5)  Making technical, non-substantive changes for the
          purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B.
No. 1254, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1254, S.D. 1, and
be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
a