STAND. COM. REP. NO.  676

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   H.B. No. 130

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 130 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO JUDGMENTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to help protect the free-flow of information by declaring foreign defamation judgments unenforceable in Hawaii unless the foreign defamation law affords free speech protections equivalent to those granted in both the United States and Hawaii Constitutions.

     The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii testified in support of this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Providing a definition of "publish";

     (2)  Clarifying that foreign judgments are unenforceable if         the defamation law applied in the foreign court did not       provide as much or greater free-speech protection than       that afforded under United States and Hawaii law; and

     (3)  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. 130, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 130, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

____________________________

JON RIKI KARAMATSU, Chair