STAND. COM. REP. NO.  191

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 1328

      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 Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 1328 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SENTENCING OF REPEAT OFFENDERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to deter insurance fraud by including felony insurance fraud relating to workers' compensation, accident and health or sickness, and motor vehicle insurance, as well as mutual benefit societies and health maintenance organizations, among the offenses subject to repeat felony offender sentencing.

     The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the Department of the Attorney General testified in support of this bill.

     Your Committee finds that while enhancing the penalties for insurance fraud will help protect the public, there are concerns about the potential impact this bill may have on correctional facilities, including the effect of this measure on prison populations and taxpayer cost.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the descriptions of the insurance fraud felonies added to the repeat offender sentencing statute so that the descriptions track the language of each felony's respective statutory section.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1328, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1328, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________

ROBERT N. HERKES, Chair