Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 2689 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to give family courts and circuit courts concurrent jurisdiction over cases of aggravated harassment by stalking.

The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu and the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for the County of Hawaii testified in support of this measure.

Your Committee finds that instances of aggravated harassment by stalking often occur in domestic abuse cases, resulting in situations where the aggravated harassment portion of the case is tried in circuit court while the domestic abuse portion is tried in family court. This measure will allow such cases to be tried as a whole in either family court or circuit court.

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. 2689 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.