REPORT TITLE:
Sex. Off. Free Zone


DESCRIPTION:
Establishes sex offender free zones around schools, playgrounds,
and childcare centers.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           582
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO SEXUAL OFFENDERS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that sex offenders,
 
 2 particularly those who use violence or who prey upon children,
 
 3 present an extreme threat to the community.  Moreover, most sex
 
 4 offenders are repeat offenders who commit far more offenses than
 
 5 those for which they are prosecuted and victimize far more
 
 6 individuals than ever report the crime.  Many sex offenders
 
 7 deliberately target and prey upon the weak, the unsuspecting, the
 
 8 innocent, and the young.  The legislature further finds that
 
 9 victims of sex offenders suffer devastating, debilitating, and
 
10 long-term consequences that often are felt by succeeding
 
11 generations as the victims struggle to cope, often without
 
12 adequate treatment and counseling, in part because of the
 
13 continuing stigma associated with such crimes.  The legislature
 
14 finds that extraordinary measures especially are necessary to
 
15 protect children from predatory sex offenders who target
 
16 environments where children spend much of their time, often
 
17 without close supervision.  Finally, the legislature finds that
 
18 this Act is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare
 
19 of the public.
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           582
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to establish sex
 
 2 offender free zones around schools, playgrounds, and childcare
 
 3 centers.
 
 4      SECTION 2.  Chapter 711, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 5 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
 6 read as follows:
 
 7      "§711-     Sex offender free zones; violations; penalty.
 
 8 (1)  As used in this section:
 
 9      "Childcare center" means any facility that is maintained for
 
10 the care, development, or supervision of children who attend the
 
11 facility for less than twenty-four hours a day.  The term
 
12 includes drop-in centers, nighttime centers, day nurseries,
 
13 nursery and play schools, cooperative child centers, centers for
 
14 children with special needs, centers serving sick children,
 
15 infant-toddler programs, school age child care programs,
 
16 employer-supported centers, and kindergartens that are not an
 
17 integral part of a public or private educational system or
 
18 institution.
 
19      "Playground" means a piece of property set apart for outdoor
 
20 games and recreation, regardless of whether equipped with devices
 
21 for such games and recreation, and may include property owned,
 
22 operated, or otherwise under the control of a public or private
 
23 entity.
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           582
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      "Sexual offense" means an offense as defined in chapter 846E
 
 2 as a sexually violent offense or a criminal offense against a
 
 3 victim who is a minor.
 
 4      (2)  It shall be a class C felony for any person who has
 
 5 been convicted, adjudicated a law violator, or found not guilty
 
 6 by reason of insanity of a sexual offense and required to
 
 7 register under chapter 846E, to:
 
 8      (a)  Enter upon or come within one thousand feet of any
 
 9           school property used for school purposes, regardless of
 
10           whether a public or private school;
 
11      (b)  Board or attempt to board any school bus; or
 
12      (c)  Enter upon or come within one thousand feet of any
 
13           playground or childcare center under circumstances not
 
14           manifestly appropriate or justified.
 
15      (3)  It shall not be a defense to a prosecution for a
 
16 violation of this section that no minors were present on the
 
17 school property or that school was not in session at the time of
 
18 the offense or that no minors were present on the playground or
 
19 at the childcare center.
 
20      (4)  In a prosecution under this section, a map produced or
 
21 reproduced by any state or county engineer for the purpose of
 
22 depicting the location and boundaries of the area on or within
 
23 one thousand feet of any property used for school purposes,
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           582
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 regardless of whether a public or private school, or any
 
 2 playground or childcare center, or a true copy of such a map,
 
 3 upon proper authentication, shall be admissible and shall
 
 4 constitute prima facie evidence of the location and boundaries of
 
 5 those areas; provided that the legislature or the appropriate
 
 6 county council has adopted a resolution or ordinance, as
 
 7 appropriate, approving the map as the official finding and record
 
 8 of the location and boundaries of those areas.  Any map approved
 
 9 pursuant to this subsection may be changed from time to time by
 
10 the legislature or appropriate county council.  The original of
 
11 every map approved or revised pursuant to this subsection, or a
 
12 true copy thereof, shall be filed with the lieutenant governor or
 
13 the county clerk, as appropriate, and shall be maintained as an
 
14 official record of the State or county.  Nothing in this
 
15 subsection shall be construed to preclude the prosecution from
 
16 introducing or relying upon any other evidence or testimony to
 
17 establish any element of this offense; nor shall this subsection
 
18 be construed to preclude the use or admissibility of any map or
 
19 diagram other than the one that has been approved by the
 
20 legislature or the county council; provided that the map or
 
21 diagram is otherwise admissible pursuant to the Rules of
 
22 Evidence."
 
23      SECTION 3.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           582
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were
 
 2 begun, before its effective date.
 
 3      SECTION 4.  New statutory material is underscored.
 
 4      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 5 
 
 6                           INTRODUCED BY:_________________________