Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 78 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize the Attorney General to seek civil penalties for abuse of a dependent adult and authorizes dependent adults or their guardians or estates to bring an action for treble damages against a person who commits the abuse.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs, Executive Office on Aging; University of Hawaii Elder Law Program; Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, City and County of Honolulu; Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; ILWU Local 142; Advocates for Nursing Home Justice; Kokua Council; Christian Science Committee on Publication for Hawaii; and four concerned citizens. The Department of Human Services submitted comments on this measure.

Your Committee finds that, with the aging of Hawaii's population, there is a growing need to address the problem of abuse and neglect of elders. The prevention, detection, and reporting of elder abuse are critical in addressing this issue. It has been estimated that as much as eighty-four per cent of elder abuse and crimes against elders are never reported; as a consequence, elder abuse is rarely prosecuted.

Your Committee further finds that other states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington, have enacted elder abuse legislation that provide for enhanced civil remedies and penalties for elder abuse. These statutes generally provide for enhanced remedies, attorneys' fees, or the imposition of civil penalties, both to encourage elders to report and effectively prosecute their claims and to deter future abusive behavior.

Your Committee facilitated a discussion to resolve the major concerns raised at the hearing on this measure. The discussion group included the Department of Human Services, the Attorney General's Office, representatives from the Hawaii Coalition of Care Home Administrators, the Hawaii Business League, and Davis Levin Livingston & Grande for the Advocates for Nursing Home Justice. Your Committee rewrote this measure based on the testimony and comments submitted and input from the discussion group. This measure, as amended, now:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 78, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 78, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.