STAND. COM. REP. NO.  385

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 1614

      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. 1614 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DRUGS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds for continued enforcement and prosecution of the drug nuisance abatement law.

     The Department of the Attorney General (Attorney General) testified in support of this bill.

     Funding the Drug Nuisance Abatement Unit of the Attorney General provides for the effective enforcement and prosecution of the nuisance abatement law related to the distribution or manufacture of drugs.  However, your Committee notes that, according to the Attorney General, additional personnel will be needed to effectively enforce this law.  Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Specifying that the appropriations may be used to hire an undetermined number of personnel for the Drug Nuisance Abatement Unit; 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 Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1614, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1614, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

TOMMY WATERS, Chair