Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 2307 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to amend the Hawaii Rules of Evidence to ensure that Hawaii courts admit photogrammetric analysis of electronic photographs.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and a person practicing in the field of photogrammetric analysis. The Honolulu City and County Police Department submitted testimony in opposition to this measure. Your Committee received comments from the Judiciary, the Department of Transportation, and the Office of the Public Defender.

Your Committee finds that, like many states and the federal judiciary, Hawaii's rules of evidence were drafted long before many of today's common technologies were developed. Although the rules are flexible enough to pertain to new technologies, your Committee believes that it makes sense to specifically include any new technologies that the legislature feels must be used or considered by the courts of the State.

Your Committee further finds that photogrammetric analysis is a new technology that may be very useful to the police in clearing accident scenes more quickly, by obviating the need to take distance measurements by hand. Therefore, your Committee also believes that this new technology can benefit all users of State highways, who are sometimes trapped in traffic while hand measurements are taken at accident scenes.

Your Committee finds that the amendments to the rules of evidence contained in this measure will ensure admissibility of photogrammetric evidence, and thus facilitate its use.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2307 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.