Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2861 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide for the prosecution of certain class B and C felonies by information charging.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of the Attorney General, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii Tourism Authority, AARP Hawaii, Retail Merchants of Hawaii, Waikiki Beach Activities, Ltd., and Waikiki Improvement Association. Comments were also submitted by the Judiciary.

Your Committee finds that this measure is the product of a consensus reached by a task force created by Act 190, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003. The task force was comprised of representatives from the Judiciary, Department of the Attorney General, prosecuting attorneys' offices, Public Defender's Office, county police departments, private citizens, and private practice attorneys. As a result of the task force's work, this measure was created to provide a procedure for information charging. Your Committee believes that this measure is necessary to implement information charging.

Your Committee has adopted the recommendations submitted by the Department of the Attorney General to amend the effective date of this measure to read:

"This Act shall take effect upon the date the chief election officer issues a certificate of election under section 11-156, Hawaii Revised Statutes, certifying that the State Constitution has been amended to allow felony criminal charges to be initiated by the filing of a written information."

Your Committee also adopted the amendment suggested by the Judiciary to include a definition for "court having jurisdiction" and "court" to mean the circuit court; provided that the chief justice may by order authorize district court judges to make probable cause determinations, set bail, and direct the issuance of arrest warrants.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2861, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2861, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.