STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3289

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 3018
                                        S.D. 1




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

Sir:

     Your Committees on Health and Human Services, Transportation
and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Judiciary, to which was
referred H.B. No. 3018 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILD ABUSE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to require confidentiality of
the identity of the person who reports a case of child abuse to
the police department.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this
measure from the Department of Human Services (DHS), Office of
Information Practices, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney,
Hawaii State Teachers Association, and Department of Education.
Testimony in opposition was received from Hale `Opio Kauai, Inc.
Opposition to section 1 of this measure was received from the
Honolulu Police Department, Hawaii County Police Department, and
Kauai County Policy Department.

     This measure also allows the reporting to be made either to
the DHS or to the police department.

     This measure is intended to facilitate the required
reporting, by persons in certain professions, positions, and
occupations, of child abuse and neglect to the police department.
By keeping the reporter's identity confidential, except upon
court order or with the reporter's written consent, your
Committees believe that there would be more reporting of these

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3289
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cases.  Your Committees are concerned that although reporting is
mandatory, some cases are not reported for fear of divulging the
identity of the reporter particularly to the perpetrator of the
abuse.  It is usually the police department that has direct
contact initially with the perpetrator.

     Current law requires a report to be made to the DHS and to
the police department.  Your Committees find this to be
unnecessarily burdensome and could inhibit the reporting of
cases.  Reporting either to the DHS or to the police department
would be sufficient since they usually cooperate with one another
in a case of child abuse or neglect.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by deleting the
material on preserving the confidentiality of the identity of the
reporter.  Upon careful consideration, your Committees find that
section 1 would have impaired the prosecutor's ability to
prosecute.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Health and Human Services and Transportation and
Intergovernmental Affairs and Judiciary that are attached to this
report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose
of H.B. No. 3018, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass
Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 3018,
S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Health and Human
                                   Services, Transportation and
                                   Intergovernmental Affairs, and
                                   Judiciary,



____________________________       ______________________________
CAL KAWAMOTO, Chair                SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair



____________________________       
AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



____________________________       
MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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