STAND. COM. REP. NO. 830

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 606
                                        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.
606 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DANGEROUS WEAPONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is
to make it a class C felony to knowingly or intentionally sell or
transfer any deadly weapon or switchblade knife to a minor.

     Your Committee finds that certain types of knives,
particularly switchblade and butterfly knives, are associated
with gang activity.  Your Committee further finds that although
switchblade knives are presently illegal, and although butterfly
knives (also known as balisongs or gravity knives) appear to be
covered within the definition of switchblade knives, stores
openly sell and minors can readily purchase butterfly knives.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of
Honolulu and the Honolulu Police Department.  Testimony in
opposition to this measure was submitted by the Office of the
Public Defender and the Libertarian Party of Hawaii.

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

     (1)  Removing the proposed criminal penalties for sale to
          minors of deadly weapons, which under current law may

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 830
                                   Page 2


          legally be owned or transferred by minors and adults
          but may not be carried concealed;

     (2)  Clarifying that butterfly knives fall within the
          definition of switchblade knives; 

     (3)  Creating a class C felony offense for sales of such
          knives to minors; and

     (3)  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.
606, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 606, 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

 
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