STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3323

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 2297
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No.
2297 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FAMILY OR HOUSEHOLD MEMBER
     ABUSE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is
to clarify the mandatory minimum sentence for successive
convictions of abuse of a family or household member.

     Your Committee finds that existing statutes do not
effectively delineate degrees of severity for domestic violence
offenses.  Your Committee firmly believes that persons who engage
in domestic abuse must face the consequences for their actions.
Under existing law, most perpetrators offend repeatedly before
their first conviction, and many additional times before a second
or subsequent conviction.  Such a delineation of degrees of
severity sends a message to the repeat offender that such
behavior will not be tolerated and will be treated as a serious
offense.

     Testimony in support of this measure, as originally
received, was submitted by the Office of the Public Defender, and
the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.  Testimony
in opposition to this measure, as originally received, was
submitted by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the
County of Maui.  Comments on this measure, as originally
received, were submitted by one individual.

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3323
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     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by deleting its contents and substituting therefor the
provisions of S.B. 2153, S.D.1, which repeals the existing
criminal offense of abuse of a family or household member and
creates three new classes of offenses.  Specifically, this
measure:

     (1)  Creates a felony, misdemeanor, and petty misdemeanor
          offense of abuse of family and household member;

     (2)  Adds a two-year and five-year time limitation during
          which the commission of an additional offense would
          qualify for the more serious charge in order to address
          the concerns raised in light of State v. Modica, 58
          Haw. 249 (1977);

     (3)  Adds the elements of interference by an offender when
          the victim is attempting to seek assistance from
          emergency and law enforcement officials to the offense
          of abuse of a family or household member in the third
          degree;

     (4)  Changes the period of separation from twenty-four hours
          to forty-eight hours to give victims additional time to
          seek shelter and intervention services, if necessary;
          and

     (5)  Mandates that firearms be seized by law enforcement if
          they reasonably believe that the firearm or ammunition
          were used or were threatened to be used in the
          commission of an offense under this part.

     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 H.B. No.
2297, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2297, S.D. 1, and
be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3323
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                                   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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