STAND. COM. REP. NO. 887

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 922
                                        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.
922 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UNAUTHORIZED CONTROL OF
     PROPELLED VEHICLE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is
to amend the state of mind required for the offense of
unauthorized control of propelled vehicle to include a knowing
and reckless state of mind.

     Your Committee finds that in unauthorized control of
propelled vehicle cases the State must prove that the defendant
intentionally exerted the unauthorized control over the vehicle.
Thus, if a defendant claims that he thought he had permission
from another person whom he believed was the owner or the agent
of the car owner, the State may be unable to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that the defendant "intentionally" exerted
unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle.  Your Committee
recognizes the difficulty the State may have in prosecuting such
cases.  However, your Committee believes that "recklessness" is a
less culpable state of mind that does not rise to the same level
as "intentionally" or "knowingly" and that a reckless violation
should not be punished in the same manner as an intentional or
knowing violation of the statute.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of

 
a                                                     
                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 887
                                   Page 2


Honolulu and the Honolulu Police Department.  Testimony in
opposition to this measure was submitted by the Office of the
Public Defender.

     Upon further consideration, your Commitee has amended this
measure by deleting the "reckless" state of mind provision.

     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.
922, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading
in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 922, S.D. 1.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
a