Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 497 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of the bill is to appropriate funds to continue efforts of the domestic violence working group in examining the criminal justice response to domestic violence, identifying programs, and proposing, facilitating, and coordinating the implementation of effective solutions.

Your Committee received testimony in favor of the measure from the Judiciary, the Department of the Attorney General, the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu, the Honolulu Police Department, the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse, the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence and a concerned individual.

Your Committee finds that the Domestic Violence Working Group provides criminal justice system agencies and domestic violence service providers a venue to review the policy and procedure of the criminal justice system as they relate to domestic violence, and develops recommendations to improve the system response to better meet the needs of domestic violence victims.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 497 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.