Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 645, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to redefine the criminal offense of endangering the welfare of an incompetent person into two separate degrees to allow for flexibility in prosecution.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Attorney General, Executive Office on Aging, State Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities, Governor's Committee on Elder Abuse, Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney, and Honolulu Police Department. The Public Defender submitted comments.

Current law in section 709-905, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), provides for endangering the welfare of an incompetent person, without distinction as to degrees. Under this measure, current law would be made a first degree offense for intentionally causing bodily injury, a class C felony. The second degree offense would be for recklessly causing bodily injury, a misdemeanor. The intent of this measure is to distinguish situations involving intentionally causing injury or recklessly causing injury. "Recklessly" is defined in section 702-206, HRS, as a conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk.

This measure allows for flexibility in prosecution by charging an offense that is appropriate to the circumstances. Your Committee finds, for example, that many cases of abuse against the elderly do not involve intentional conduct but do involve a conscious disregard of the circumstances that causes bodily injury to occur.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

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 H.B. No. 645, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 645, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.