STAND. COM. REP. NO. 491

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1326

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 1326 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DISCLOSURE OF VITAL STATISTICS RECORDS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to add law enforcement officers to the list of persons who are considered to have a direct and tangible interest in public health statistic records so that they may more efficiently conduct criminal investigations.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, the Department of Public Safety, the Honolulu Police Department, and the Hawai‘i Police Department.

     Your Committee finds that permitting law enforcement officers to have access to public health statistic records in certain situations would allow for more timely criminal investigations, while protecting the privacy of those records.  In addition, your Committee notes that allowing law enforcement officers to have access to these records may assist with the back log of arrest warrants.

     Your Committee has amended this measure, upon the recommendation of the Department of the Attorney General, to add language to specify that law enforcement officers will not be required to pay fees when requesting certified copies of vital statistic records.  Your Committee has also amended this measure to make technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1326, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1326, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

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

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair