STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2759

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2466
                                        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.
2466 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COMPUTER ACCESS BY MINORS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is
to require installation of screening mechanisms on all public
school or public access computers to prohibit access by minors to
pornographic material.

     Your Committee finds that there is growing community concern
regarding the increased opportunities provided through electronic
means for children to intentionally or unintentionally be exposed
to pornographic materials.  Your Committee agrees that there
should be a state policy regarding how to prohibit or limit
access by children to certain types and forms of information.
However, your Committee also acknowledges that during the last
decade, the legislature has been supportive of providing
increased autonomy to the Board of Education and the Department
of Education to establish policy with regards to the
administration of the public school system, which also includes
the state library system.  Thus, your Committee is reticent, at
this time, to mandate through statute what should more
appropriately be a policy developed and adopted by the Board of
Education for implementation throughout the public schools and
libraries.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2759
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     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by deleting its contents and substituting therefor the
following provisions:

     (1)  Requesting that the Board of Education develop and
          implement a policy regarding access by minors to and
          screening of pornographic materials on public access
          computers;

     (2)  Requiring that the policy developed comply with
          constitutional protections;

     (3)  Suggesting mechanisms for achieving the goals of the
          measure that the Board may consider in developing the
          policy;

     (3)  Requesting that the Board adopt such policy no later
          than January 1, 2001; and

     (4)  Requesting that the Board of Education submit a report
          to the legislature regarding the implementation of the
          policy, any public response to the policy, and any
          recommendations regarding legislation which might be
          necessary to support and enforce the policy.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Superintendent of Education, the Honolulu Police Department,
Hawaii Family Forum, Hawaii Christian Coalition, Hawaii Catholic
Conference, Hawaii Catholic Legislative Advocacy Source, and 15
private individuals.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was
submitted by the State Librarian, the American Civil Liberties
Union of Hawaii, and three public librarians.  Comments on this
measure were submitted by Common Cause Hawaii. 

     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.
2466, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2466, S.D. 1.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2759
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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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