STAND. COM. REP. NO.903
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: S.B. No. 645
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 645 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTRONIC AGE VERIFICATION,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to require magnetic strips or bar codes to be placed on all driver's licenses and state civil identification cards to allow for electronic verification of the age of the licensee and detection of fraudulent cards. It also requires use of optical scanners to verify age at the time of alcohol sales and imposes penalties.
Your Committees received testimony in favor of this measure from the Attorney General (AG), Honolulu Customer Services Department, and MADD-Hawaii Youth in Action.
Your Committees find that it is easy for students to obtain alcohol in Hawaii with or without fraudulent identification cards. Storeowners are not doing their part to prevent underage drinking in Hawaii by selling alcohol to minors. Making it harder for minors to obtain alcohol is important in the fight to prevent underage drinking in Hawaii.
Your Committees have amended this measure by:
(1) Deleting the penalty for changing, altering, tampering, or manipulating with bar codes or magnetic strips of identification certificates, on recommendation of the AG because penalties are provided in existing law;
(2) Deleting the requirement that the AG adopt rules, on recommendation of the AG;
(3) Deleting the appropriation to the counties, because the counties are currently using the bar code system;
(4) Clarifying that the "latest technology device" may be used so that the statute need not be amended to keep abreast of the newest technology;
(5) Requiring in the appropriation to the AG that $10,118 be appropriated from the state identification revolving fund;
(6) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2002, to allow merchants the time to obtain scanners;
(7) Prohibiting any person from using bar code information for commercial purposes;
(8) Granting a five year exemption to liquor licensees located in rural and agriculture areas where there is no electricity or a lack of adequate electricity to install a scanner or other device;
(9) Requiring the AG to report to the legislature for the 2002 Session on the effect of this Act on liquor merchants; and
(10) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for proper drafting.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 645, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 645, S.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means,
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____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair |
____________________________ BRIAN KANNO, Chair |
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