Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs, and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 2506 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to create a new offense of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle in the second degree.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Honolulu Police Department, Maui Prosecuting Attorney, and Maui Police Department.

Current law provides for the offense of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, which is a class C felony, which is changed under this measure to a first degree offense. This measure adds a second degree offense as a misdemeanor. The second degree offense makes it a crime to enter the vehicle unlawfully, and does not require that the person have the intent to commit a crime against a person or property rights.

This measure is intended to ease the burden of proof upon prosecutors who now have to prove that the offender entered or remained unlawfully in the vehicle with an intent to commit a crime. Currently, merely finding someone in a vehicle is difficult to prosecute. This measure removes that impediment to prosecution.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment in the format.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs, and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2506, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2506, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.