STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.2868

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 2428

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 2428, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGE VERIFICATION OF SEXUAL PERFORMERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require producers of pornography to verify that their performers are not minors, and to keep documentation of this verification.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Attorney General, Honolulu Police Department, Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney, and Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii.

Testimony on this measure indicates that law enforcement has had difficulty in gaining the cooperation of minor victims and witnesses to prosecute producers and purveyors of pornography. The approach proposed by this measure obviates this problem by requiring persons using sexual performers to create, maintain, and affix information which can be checked by law enforcement to ascertain that minors were not used in the creation or production of the performance or material. This measure allows law enforcement to check for violations by using records required to be kept versus having to gain the cooperation of the minors to detect, investigate, and prosecute violations.

This measure is intended to detect, prosecute, and ultimately extinguish the practice of using minors to pose for pornography, by facilitating the investigation of such activities. This measure fills in the missing link in a chain of required proof to successfully prosecute a child pornography case.

Your Committee has amended this measure, on the recommendation of the Attorney General, by deleting its contents and inserting S.B. No. 2686, S.D. 2, which:

(1) Deletes reference to "live audience" in new section 712-A(1)(c) of the House version;

(2) Deletes requirement in new section 712-A(1)(c) that the records be produced for a law enforcement officer within twenty-four hours;

(3) Deletes new section 712-A(1)(d) of the House version, referencing maintaining records on site;

(4) Deletes new section 712-A(2) of the House version, referencing use of the information or evidence obtained;

(5) Adds birth certificate to the list of documents for which certified copies are required in definition of "age verification records of sexual performers";

(6) Deletes the definition of "live audience";

(7) Adds definitions for "sexual conduct" and "sexual exploitation of a minor"; and

(8) Makes technical changes for style and clarity.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2428, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2428, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,

		____________________________ DAVID MATSUURA, Chair