STAND. COM. REP. NO. 67

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 1379
                                        S.D. 1




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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Transportation and Intergovernmental
Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1379 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL ASSAULTS AND RELATED
     OFFENSES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to classify assault against a
law enforcement officer as a class C felony.  This measure also
classifies terroristic threatening against a law enforcement
officer as terroristic threatening in the first degree.

     Testimony in support of this measure was received from the
Attorney General, Department of Land and Natural Resources,
Police Department of the City and County of Honolulu, Department
of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu,
Police Department of the County of Maui, State of Hawaii
Organization of Police Officers, and Community Coalition for
Neighborhood Safety.

     Testimony in opposition to this measure was received from
the Office of the Public Defender.

     Your Committee finds that police officers and other law
enforcement officers are placed in difficult or potentially
dangerous situations while performing their duties as they have
the responsibility of protecting the community from crime.  Under
current law, it is a class C felony to assault correctional
workers or educational workers who are engaged in the performance

 
a                                                     SB1379 SD1
                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 67
                                   Page 2


of their duties but a misdemeanor to assault a police officer.
This measure amends the current law by broadening the scope to
include assaults against any law enforcement officer, not only a
police officer, and classifying such assaults as a class C
felony.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical
conforming amendments to reflect its intent.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Transportation and Intergovernmental Affairs that is
attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the
intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1379, as amended herein, and
recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached
hereto as S.B. No. 1379, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee
on Judiciary.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Transportation
                                   and Intergovernmental Affairs,



                                   ______________________________
                                   CAL KAWAMOTO, Chair

 
a                                                     SB1379 SD1