Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1763, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to ensure the continued force and effectiveness of the Hawaii Penal Code (Code) by establishing and appropriating funds for an advisory committee to conduct a comprehensive review of the Code.

This bill would also require the advisory committee to report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature prior to the convening of the 2006 Regular Session.

Your Committee finds that it has been ten years since a comprehensive review of the Code was last conducted and that the Legislature failed to act on the recommendations produced by that review. Your Committee further finds that this measure is designed to address inconsistencies, ambiguities, and errors within the Code that were apparent in 1995 and may have multiplied since that time.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion of the issues raised.

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. 1763, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1763, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.