STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2456

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2631
                                        




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.
2631 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO OFFENSES AGAINST PROPERTY
     RIGHTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to make certain amendments to
theft statutes in the Penal Code.

     Specifically, this bill allows photocopies of price or name
tags or printed register receipts as prima facie evidence of
value and ownership of shoplifted goods and merchandise.  The
bill also establishes that if there is no registered owner of a
propelled vehicle or unrecorded owner of a vehicle pending
transfer of ownership, the owner is the legal owner for the
purposes of the offense of unauthorized control of a propelled
vehicle.

     The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and
County of Honolulu and of the County of Maui, the Honolulu Police
Department, and the Hawaii Visitor Industry Security Association
testified in support of the bill.

     Your Committee finds that allowing photocopies of price tags
to establish value and ownership of merchandise is in conformity
with Rule 1003, Hawaii Rules of Evidence, which allows duplicate
copies to be admitted to the same extent as an original unless a

 
a                                                          SB2631
 
                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2456
                                   Page 2


question of authenticity is raised or unless fairness requires
the original.  However, because many retail establishments use
bar codes and scanners to ring up purchases, the original or
photocopied bar coded price tag may not be useful in establishing
the value or ownership of shoplifted goods.  In those situations,
this bill provides that printed register receipts are prima facie
evidence of value and ownership of shoplifted goods or
merchandise.

     Your Committee further finds that amending the definition of
the term "owner" will assist law enforcement authorities in
charging a defendant with unauthorized control of a propelled
vehicle where the vehicle at issue has no registered owner or
unrecorded owner pending transfer because registration of the
vehicle is not required.  For unregistered propelled vehicles,
such as golf carts or construction equipment, there is a legal
owner to give or withhold consent to the vehicle's control.

     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.
2631 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on
the calendar for Third Reading.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
a                                                          SB2631