STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1617

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 708

S.D. 2

H.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 708, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHAPTER 846E,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to enhance public safety by amending the law regarding public access to registration information of sex offenders and persons convicted of certain offenses against children. Specifically this bill, among other things:

(1) Establishes separate registries for sex offenders and offenders against children;

(2) Allows certain offenders to petition a court in a civil proceeding for termination of registration requirements and public access to registration information, and establishes legal presumptions, based on offenses, for these proceedings;

(3) Provides that a covered offender who is a sexually violent predator, aggravated sex offender, or repeat covered offender may petition a court in a civil proceeding for termination of registration requirements, if the offender has substantially complied with registration requirements for 40 years;

(4) Specifies that the standard of proof for a covered offender petitioning a court for termination of public access of registration information is a preponderance of the evidence, rather than clear and convincing evidence;

(5) Provides that a denial by a court of a petition to terminate public access to registration information precludes the filing of another petition for five years from the date of the last denial;

(6) Clarifies the scope of offender registration information and permitted disclosures of this information;

(7) Extends from three working days to ten, the amount of time that a covered offender has to notify in writing the Attorney General or the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center of a change of any of the offender's registration information;

(8) Repeals the provision requiring the State to petition a court in a civil proceeding for the public release of sex offender information;

(9) Specifies the methods of providing public access to offender information, based on offenses;

(10) Provides that the provisions of this measure will have retroactive application; and

(11) Appropriates $115,000 for fiscal year 2005-2006, for state and county agencies to hire necessary staff to implement the new provisions.

The Department of Public Safety, Attorney General, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney – City and County of Honolulu, Honolulu Police Department, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney – County of Kauai, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney – County of Hawaii, Sex Abuse Treatment Center, YWCA of Hawaii Island, Hawaii Catholic Conference, and Hawaii Family Forum supported this bill. A concerned individual supported this measure with amendments. The Office of the Public Defender opposed this bill.

 

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Changing the amount appropriated to carry out the purposes of this bill to $1, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 708, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 708, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

 

____________________________

DWIGHT TAKAMINE, Chair