STAND. COM. REP. NO. 162

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 605
                                        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.
605, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CIVIL RIGHTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is
to establish a civil cause of action and enhanced criminal
penalties for hate crimes against persons because of race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, transgender, sexual
orientation, age, or disability; and to provide for a reporting
mechanism to compile, track, and analyze hate crimes data.

     Your Committee finds that crimes and threats against persons
because of their race, color, religion, ancestry, national
origin, gender, transgender, sexual orientation, age, or
disability is a growing problem in Hawaii.  Your Committee
further finds that Hawaii is one of twelve states that do not
have laws addressing hate-motivated crimes, and one of two states
that do not comply with the federal Hate Crimes Statistics Act.
Although other civil laws would apply to some hate or bias
motivated acts, there is presently no civil remedy specifically
for violence or threatened violence that is motivated by the fact
that the victim falls within a protected class.

     Your Committee is concerned, however, that a civil remedy
for hate or bias motivated acts not go so far as to infringe on
the right of free speech or any other constitutionally protected
right.  Your Committee is further concerned that a civil remedy

 
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not be so broadly applicable as to substantially overlap with
current laws prohibiting discrimination in areas such as
employment.  Likewise, your Committee believes that enhanced
criminal penalties for hate crimes should not create
impracticable requirements for courts sentencing the perpetrators
of hate crimes.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Attorney General, the Office of the Public Defender, the Hawaii
State Commission on the Status of Women, the Hawaii Civil Rights
Commission, seven organizations and seven private individuals
advocating adoption of hates crimes legislation.  Testimony in
opposition to this measure was submitted by six organizations and
five private individuals opposing hate crimes legislation based
upon constitutional concerns or religious objections. 

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

     (1)  Defining the acts providing a basis for the civil cause
          of action as hate or bias motivated acts, rather than
          hate crimes;

     (2)  Removing the $25,000 civil penalty as being both
          redundant and an inappropriate form of remedy for civil
          actions by private individuals;

     (3)  Adding injunctive relief as a civil remedy;

     (4)  Clarifying that a civil action cannot be brought based
          on speech alone;

     (5)  Removing the second section creating a civil cause of
          action as being duplicative of the first cause of
          action and duplicative of other civil rights statutes;

     (6)  Removing the mandatory requirements for probation
          sentencing, as a court already has the discretion to
          order conditions for probation and such requirements
          would have been impracticable in many instances;

     (7)  Placing responsibility for collection of hate crime
          data entirely within the Office of the Attorney
          General; and

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


 
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     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.
605, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 605, S.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

                                   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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