STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1210

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 278

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 278, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VICTIM RESTITUTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to amend Hawaii's sentencing laws relating to victim restitution.

Specifically, this measure:

(1) Eliminates judicial discretion and makes the payment of victim restitution mandatory; and

(2) Requires that a defendant's financial ability to make restitution payments be considered only in connection with the establishment of a restitution payment schedule.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of the Attorney General, the Hawaii Paroling Authority, the Crime Victim Compensation Commission, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the County of Maui, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu, the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving Hawaii. The Office of the Public Defender testified in opposition to the measure.

Your Committee finds that this measure makes victim restitution a mandatory as opposed to a discretionary feature of Hawaii's sentencing laws. This measure only takes into consideration a defendant's financial ability to pay for the purpose of establishing a restitution payment schedule.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing provisions that make victim restitution mandatory;

(2) Including provisions that increase the crime victim compensation fee by $10 based upon the class of the criminal offense; and

(3) Establishing a priority schedule regarding the payment of court-ordered fees to ensure that the victim of a defendant's crime receives the first amount of compensation paid by the defendant.

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 H.B. No. 278, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 278, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,

		____________________________ COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair