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 S.B. No. 708 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to amend laws governing the registration of sex offenders and offenders against children and allowing the public to access information relating to those offenders.

Specifically, this measure:

Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by the Department of the Attorney General, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu, the Honolulu Police Department, the Sex Abuse Treatment Center, and Kalani Iki Neighborhood Board #2. Testimony in opposition to the measure was submitted by the Office of the Public Defender and the ACLU of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that establishing a proper balance between upholding the public's right to access information on registered offenders and an offender's due process rights is a challenging task that this measure seeks to accomplish.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

Your Committee has amended this measure in response to concerns voiced by the Department of the Attorney General and the Office of the Public Defender. This measure, which incorporates suggestions made by both offices, strikes the proper balance with respect to upholding the public's right, under the Hawaii Constitution, to access information on covered offenders and protecting the due process and privacy rights of covered offenders.

Your Committee also incorporated some of the suggestions made by the Attorney General by including a "sexually violent predator" within the measure with respect to registration and public access provisions in order to comply with the federal Wetterling Act requirements. Your Committee has also made technical, non-substantive amendments with respect to the calculation or "running" of certain time periods for purposes of clarity.

However, your Committee has chosen not to adopt the suggestions made by the Attorney General with respect to defining "aggravated sexual offense" to mean one sexual offense. This term currently encompasses the following offenses: an act of sexual penetration; more than one sexual offense with a victim under the age of twelve; and an act of penetration with a victim under the age of fourteen. A person may commit the offense of "aggravated sexual assault" under this measure with the commission of just one sexual offense.

Your Committee has also chosen not to amend the type of information regarding street address information for an offender based upon the level of dangerousness of the offender as advocated by the Attorney General. This type of "dangerousness" determination is clearly set forth in regard to the types of offenders that are subject to registration requirements, the length of time that these offenders must be registered, and the type of information that is available to the public both on the Internet and at a police station.

Finally, your Committee has chosen not to remove the provisions relating to the presumptions a court must apply with respect to covered offenders based upon claims of unfairness to the government. The basis for enacting a sex offender registration is not one of fairness to the government, but of properly balancing the rights of offenders and the community. Fairness to government should not be included as part of this determination.

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. 708, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 708, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.