STAND. COM. REP. NO. 896

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 586
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No.
586 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DISPOSITION OF CONVICTED
     DEFENDANTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to allow enhanced sentencing for
a defendant who is convicted of using a controlled substance in
the course of committing or attempting to commit a felony sexual
assault.

     Your Committee finds that there is a need for stricter laws
relating to the use of controlled substances to facilitate crimes
of violence.  The practice of using controlled substances on
unsuspecting victims to make them vulnerable to sexual assault is
not a new phenomenon.  However, your Committee notes that the
increasing trend over the past three years of the use of Rohypnol
and other "date rape" drugs to incapacitate a victim raises new
concerns about the frequency of these types of acts.  Your
Committee believes that enhanced sentencing is an appropriate
additional sanction which should be imposed for the commission of
this type of aggravated sexual assault.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Department of Public Safety, the Department of the Prosecuting
Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, the Honolulu Police
Department, and Hoffman LaRoche, Inc.  Testimony in opposition to
this measure was submitted by the Office of the Public Defender.

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 896
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     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by: 

     (1)  Clarifying that the enhanced sentencing applies when a
          controlled substance is used to facilitate the crime
          rather than incapacitate the victim; and

     (2)  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.
586, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 586, S.D. 1, 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

 
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