CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. 22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: H.B. No. 562

S.D. 1

C.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 562, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SEXUAL ASSAULT,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of the bill is to:

(1) Make permanent the provision that criminalizes sexual penetration of or sexual contact with a fifteen or sixteen year old by a person who is not less than five years older than the minor and not legally married to the minor;

(2) Require the Attorney General to collect data generated as a result of the task force's recommendations and report its findings to the 2004 Legislature;

(3) Amend the sex offender registration requirements by repealing the authority of courts to reconsider lifetime public releases of registration information unless the offender proves by clear and convincing evidence that the offender suffers an extraordinary physical disability that prevents the offender from committing future sexual offenses, and requiring sex offenders moving to another state to comply with the registration laws of the new state;

(4) Require sex offenders who remain in the state longer than ten days or an aggregate period exceeding thirty days in one calendar year to register with the county chief of police; and

(5) Clarify that:

(A) It is the county prosecutors who are responsible for petitioning the court for public release of a sex offender's registration information; and

(B) This petition is a civil proceeding.

Your Committee on Conference finds that:

(1) The requirements and procedures for registration and notification under Chapter 846E, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), are not intended to be criminal matters in nature. There is no intent to create punitive aspects in the statutory scheme. In affirming this intent statutory language has been inserted to indicate that proceedings under these provisions are civil in nature;

(2) However it is not intended that merely by this label of "civil proceedings" aspects familiar in the criminal court are precluded. Labels of "civil" or "criminal" do not control; the statutory intent and scheme do control. Consequently, statutory language has been inserted indicating that the county prosecutors are responsible for handling this civil proceeding, instead of the state attorney general;

(3) Likewise the "civil" label should not preclude indigent representation by the office the public defender. Both the Hawaii state constitution and section 802-1, HRS, indicate such services may be required; and

(4) Repealing the authority of court to reconsider lifetime notification unless there is proof of extraordinary physical disability still provides the individual with meaningful opportunity and a hearing.

Your Committee on Conference amended the bill by:

(1) Inserting a severalablity clause; and

(2) Making technical and nonsubstantive changes for clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 562, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 562, S.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

____________________________ COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair		____________________________ BLAKE K. OSHIRO, Chair