STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2138

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2690
                                        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.
2690 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PROBATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is
to:  require that the court, upon sentencing a defendant to
probation or deferring a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, order
the defendant to pay a probation service fee of $100 for a term
of over a year or $50 for a term of a year or less; and to
establish the probation services special fund.

     Your Committee finds that the probation offender population
in Hawaii has increased by about ten percent in the last five
years, yet the resources allocated to the program have been
reduced in conjunction with general budget reductions.  Thus,
probation officers are now required to provide more investigative
and supervision services, for more high-risk offenders, with
fewer resources.  Your Committee finds that the proposed fees
will not approach fully reimbursing the State for the money spent
on probation services, but will help to defray the costs of
administration.  Your Committee further finds that a probation
fee may have a useful effect with regards to offender reform by
emphasizing that they must take responsibility for their offenses
and for the costs incurred due to their criminal acts.

     However, your Committee believes that the inclusion of
defendants who have agreed to deferred acceptance of a guilty or

 
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nolo contendere plea in the general probation offender population
is inappropriate.  Your Committee notes that although such
defendants, like probation offenders, are assessed as to risk and
supervised through the probation administration, as a group they
present a low risk of re-offending.  For this reason,
significantly fewer resources are required for supervision of
defendants who have agreed to deferred pleas than for offenders
sentenced to probation.  Your Committee believes that, in
fairness, the burden of probation service fees should fall on
those who present a higher risk of re-offending and are,
therefore, heavier users of probation resources.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Judiciary and the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the
City and County of Honolulu.  Testimony partially supporting and
partially opposing this measure was submitted by the Attorney
General and the Crime Victim Compensation Commission.  Testimony
in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Office of the
Public Defender.

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

     (1)  Deleting language that would have given payment of the
          probation service fee priority over payment of child
          support and victim restitution;

     (2)  Deleting language requiring defendants entering
          deferred guilty or nolo contendere pleas to pay the
          probation service fee; and

     (3)  Increasing the fee amount from $100 to $150 for
          probation of over a year, and from $50 to $75 for
          probation of a year or less.
  
     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.
2690, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2690, S.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.


 
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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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