Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 297 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of the bill is to establish the Drug Busters Program within the Department of the Attorney General to combat the sale and distribution of illegal drugs and to provide funding for drug prevention, enforcement, and treatment.

United States Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii County Police Department, Hawaii Nurses' Association, American Heart Association, and concerned individuals testified in support of this bill. Testimony in opposition to the measure was received from the Department of the Attorney General, the Honolulu Police Department, and the Office of the Public Defender.

Your Committee notes that although several organizations opposed this bill in its form as introduced, all testifiers recognize and agree that the State of Hawaii does indeed have a serious crystal methamphetamine, or ice, problem.

Your Committee finds that despite objections of redundancy of functions there is strong support for the creation of a program to use experienced individuals on a contract basis for drug enforcement, prevention and treatment.

Your Committee amended the bill 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. 297, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 297, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.