SECTION 1. H.B. No. 133, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, is amended by designating Sections 1, 2, and 3 of the measure as Part I.

SECTION 2. H.B. No. 133, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, is amended by amending Section 1 to read as follows:

"PART I

SECTION 1. Current law allows for the prosecution of parents who abandon their newborn infants. These parents are often young mothers who are unable to deal with the harsh reality of parenthood. Their solution is leaving the newborn in a populated area with the hope that someone will find and care for the child. Although the possibility of prosecution was intended to deter mothers from taking such a careless approach, newborn infants have suffered and died as the result of abandonment in life-threatening situations.

"Baby drop-off" laws take a different approach by placing the immediate concern on the child's needs rather than focusing on the mother's liability. The goal is to create a system where parents can safely leave their newborns without fear of being prosecuted for child abandonment. Anonymity, confidentiality, and freedom from prosecution for parents may encourage them to leave a newborn infant safely, and thus save the newborn infant's life.

The purpose of this [Act] part is to:

SECTION 3. H.B. No. 133, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, is amended by adding a Part II, to read as follows:

"PART II

SECTION 4. The legislature finds that public safety officers, sheriffs, and deputy sheriffs have occasion to witness child abuse on a daily basis in the course of their work in serving arrest warrants or providing security at the State’s airports. Under current law, public safety officers, sheriffs, and deputy sheriffs are not mandated to report child abuse to the department of human services or the police, and lack authority to assume protective custody of the child. The legislature further finds that the safety and welfare of the child would be protected if public safety officers, sheriffs, and deputy sheriffs were conferred with the same statutory authority as exists for law enforcement agencies and police officers in child abuse cases.

The purpose of this part is to clarify that public safety officers, sheriffs, and deputy sheriffs shall report child abuse cases and be conferred with the authority to take the child victim into protective custody."

SECTION 5. Section 350-1.1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

"(a) Notwithstanding any other state law concerning confidentiality to the contrary, the following persons who, in their professional or official capacity, have reason to believe that child abuse or neglect has occurred or that there exists a substantial risk that child abuse or neglect may occur in the reasonably foreseeable future, shall immediately report the matter orally to the department or to the police department:

2. By amending subsection (c) to read:

"(c) The initial oral report shall be followed as soon as possible by a report in writing to the department. If a police department or the department of public safety is the initiating agency, a written report shall be filed with the department for cases that the police or the department of public safety take further action on or for active cases in the department under this chapter. All written reports shall contain the name and address of the child and the child's parents or other persons responsible for the child's care, if known, the child's age, the nature and extent of the child's injuries, and any other information that the reporter believes might be helpful or relevant to the investigation of the child abuse or neglect. This subsection shall not be construed to serve as a cause of action against the department [or], the police[.], or department of public safety."

SECTION 6. Section 587-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "police officer" to read as follows:

""Police officer" means a person employed by any county in this State, or public safety officer appointed under section 353C-4, including sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, to enforce the laws and ordinances for preserving the peace, safety, and good order of the community."

SECTION 7. Section 587-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

A police officer may assume protective custody of the child without a court order and without the consent of the child's family regardless of whether the child's family is absent, if in the discretion of the police officer:

SECTION 3. H.B. No. 133, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, is amended by renumbering Sections 4 and 5 of the measure to Sections 8 and 9, and designating those sections as part III.