Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1860, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide funding to child abuse agencies and programs through an income tax checkoff.

Specifically, this bill allows taxpayers to designate $5 of state income tax refunds for any taxable year to the Hawaii Children's Trust Fund, Domestic Violence Prevention Special Fund, and the respective Spouse and Child Abuse Special Accounts under the Departments of Health and Human Services and the Judiciary.

Your Committee recognizes that domestic violence is a serious, ongoing problem in Hawaii. Children often are direct victims of abuse, suffer trauma from witnessing violence upon others, or are neglected by parents inflicting or suffering abuse. Statistics show that the national average of abuse for children under the age of one is 9.4 per cent, and Hawaii's average is 14.3 per cent.

Your Committee finds that child abuse and neglect prevention programs are severely underfunded. Currently, a majority of the funding is dedicated to physical abuse prevention programs, with very little funding going towards prevention of child neglect. This measure will not only provide a needed source of funding for these programs, but will also create a venue to inform the general public about the importance of child abuse and neglect prevention.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1860, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1860, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.