Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1120 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to replace the existing law on electronic surveillance and replace it with new provisions, based on federal law.

Hawaii's electronic surveillance law was originally adopted in 1978 and not significantly amended since 1989. Technology has changed substantially in the ensuing fourteen years, leaving Hawaii's law hopelessly outdated and restrictive and, as such, rarely used by law enforcement. Substantial changes are needed to update the law.

The bill contains a process for obtaining an emergency wiretap in certain limited circumstances, clarifies the permissibility of "bugging," sets a lower standard for use of pen registers, and establishes a surveillance review unit in the Department of the Attorney General to review each application for wiretapping and submit a recommendation to the judge hearing the application.

Testimony in support of the bill was received from the Department of the Attorney General, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu, the Chief of Police for Maui County, and the Honolulu Police Department. The Office of the Public Defender and the ACLU raised concerns. One of the members of your Committee expressed strong reservations against the bill, and another member expressed "strongest" reservations.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1120 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.