STAND. COM. REP. NO.  961

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 1152

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1152 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SENTENCING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of the bill is to expand the scope of the repeat offender statute to include certain felonies that were recently enacted or amended.

     The Department of the Attorney General and the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu testified in support of this bill. The American Civil Liberties Union and a concerned individual opposed this measure.

     Prior to the hearing for this bill, your Committee considered a proposed House Draft relating to amendments to extended sentencing provisions.  Your Committee received testimony in support of the proposed measure from the Department of the Attorney General and the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu.  The Office of the Public Defender and the American Civil Liberties Union opposed that part of the measure requiring an extended term of imprisonment for defendants that meet the criteria for such sentencing.  Community Alliance on Prisons submitted comments.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Deleting the contents and inserting provisions requiring a jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant meets the criteria for an extended term of imprisonment; and

(2) Inserting an effective date of January 1, 2112, to encourage further discussion.

     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. 1152, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1152, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

____________________________

TOMMY WATERS, Chair