CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 26

                            Honolulu, Hawaii
                                            , 1999

                            RE:   S.B. No. 823
                                  S.D. 1
                                  H.D. 2
                                  C.D. 1




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

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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the
Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives
in S.B. No. 823, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, entitled:  

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SENTENCING," 

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to
recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final
passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this bill is to require judges, when imposing
a sentence, to consider the fact that the crime was committed in
the presence of a minor as an aggravating factor of the crime.

     Your Committee on Conference finds that children who witness
domestic violence are harmed in many ways, and acknowledges that
domestic violence is a perpetuation of a violent cycle, as
children of abuse grow up to be abusers themselves.  Various
studies indicate that in homes where there is domestic violence,
approximately 87 percent include children who witness these
violent acts.  Studies have also documented multiple problems
among children that have witnessed continual assaults by one

 
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parent on another in the home.  These problems include:
psychological and emotional distress such as aggression,
hostility, anxiety, social withdrawal, and depression; cognitive
functioning problems such as lower verbal and quantitative skills
and the development of attitudes supporting the use of violence;
and physical problems such as delayed motor skills, speech
difficulties, and multiple health problems.  Therefore, because
of the high social and financial costs resulting from domestic
violence, your Committee agrees that more serious penalties
should be imposed for both their deterrent and punitive effects.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by clarifying that
the court shall consider these aggravating factors in addition to
the factors to be considered under section 706-606, Hawaii
Revised Statutes.

     Your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent
and purpose of S.B. No. 823, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, as amended herein,
and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached
hereto as S.B. No. 823, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, C.D. 1.

                                   Respectfully submitted,

MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE        MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE
            HOUSE                             SENATE
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
DENNIS A. ARAKAKI, Co-Chair        AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Co-Chair         MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
MARILYN B. LEE, Member             SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Member
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
DAVID D. STEGMAIER, Member         WHITNEY ANDERSON, Member

 
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______________________________
CYNTHIA HENRY THIELEN, Member


 
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