STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2442

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2153
                                        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 S.B. No.
2153 entitled: 

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to repeal the existing criminal
offense of abuse of a family or household member and create three
new classes of offenses.

     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 was submitted by the
Judiciary, the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women,
the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County
of Honolulu, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the
County of Maui, the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal
Hotline, the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence,
and Child and Family Service.  Testimony in opposition to this

 
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measure was submitted by the Office of the Public Defender, the
Honolulu Police Department, Hawaii Citizens' Rights PAC, Hawaii
Rifle Association, Lessons in Firearms Education, and a concerned
individual.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by:

     (1)  Adding 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);

     (2)  Deleting the elements of disorderly conduct from the
          offense of abuse of a family or household member in the
          third degree; 

     (3)  Adding 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)  Changing 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; 

     (5)  Mandating 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;

     (6)  Deleting the provisions that required mandatory
          imprisonment and intervention services for offenses
          other than domestic violence; and

     (7)  Making technical, non-substantive changes for the
          purposes of clarity and style.

     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.
2153, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2153, S.D. 1, and
be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.


 
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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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