STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 643

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 314

H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 314 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PAWNBROKERS AND SECONDHAND DEALERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to improve the ability of the police to track pawnshop transactions, by requiring pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers to file daily electronic reports of property received by these businesses, to the county police departments.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority, Honolulu Police Department, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and a concerned individual testified in support of this bill. The Hawaii Pawnbrokers Association supported the intent of this measure and suggested amendments. A concerned individual opposed this bill.

Your Committee finds that while the reporting requirements of this bill may help the police to file and track pawnshop transactions more efficiently, pawnbrokers have raised concerns that mandatory electronic reporting may be unduly burdensome for some businesses.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Specifying that pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers, and their agents may use existing software deemed by the police department to be sufficient to meet the daily electronic reporting requirements of this measure;

(2) Providing that when pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers, or their agents discover a reporting error, they shall immediately correct the error;

(3) Establishing a working group that includes representatives from the county police departments, the Hawaii Pawnbrokers Association, and any other pawnbrokers or secondhand dealers who are stakeholders affected by the new reporting requirements;

(4) Adding appropriations for the working group and for the county police departments to implement the new reporting requirements;

(5) Changing the effective date of this bill to July 1, 2008, to allow the affected parties time to comply with the new reporting requirements; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 314, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 314, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

		____________________________ SYLVIA LUKE, Chair