STAND. COM. REP. NO. 788

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1491

       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 Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1491 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to strengthen enforcement of Hawaii's drug laws.

     The bill permits the Director of Public Safety to use the controlled substance registration revolving fund to offset the cost of investigating violations of chapter 329, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, and to fund operation of the narcotics enforcement division's forensic drug laboratory facility.

     No written comments were submitted.

     Your Committee finds that it is appropriate to use the controlled substance registration revolving fund to offset the cost of regulating those who pay fees into the fund.

Your Committee intends that the fund not be used to offset the cost of investigations or operations of the forensic drug laboratory that relate to dangerous, harmful, and detrimental drug violations under the Penal Code.  Other federal, state, and local resources are available for those purposes.  Your Committee has amended this measure by adding a purpose section to make its intent clear.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1491, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1491, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair