STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1486-12

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2012

RE:   H.C.R. No. 99

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 99 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO CREATE AN EFFICIENT TRACKING METHOD FOR DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID (DNA) RAPE KITS AND TO REDUCE THE TIME TO PROCESS THE RESULTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Department of the Attorney General to create an efficient tracking method for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) rape kits and to reduce the time to process the results.

The Sex Abuse Treatment Center, Community Alliance on Prisons, American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, Hawaii Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Representative from House District 7 testified in support of this measure.  The Honolulu Police Department testified in opposition to this measure.  The Department of the Attorney General provided comments on this measure.   

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Amending the title to "requesting the Department of the Attorney General to work with stakeholders and appropriate agencies to create an efficient tracking method for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) rape kits";

     (2)  Deleting disputed language regarding an increasing backlog in DNA rape kits at the Honolulu Police Department Crime Laboratory;

     (3) Incorporating language from the testimony of the Honolulu Police Department establishing how rape kits are currently processed by the Crime Laboratory, that the primary concerns of the Crime Laboratory are the timely completion of requested analyses, and that the Crime Laboratory currently has a manageable number of rape kit analysis requests that are assigned and scheduled for completion;

     (4)  Deleting disputed language asserting the existence of a backlog of unprocessed DNA rape kits and the need to reduce their processing time;

     (5)  Adding the Sex Abuse Treatment Center as one of the agencies with which the Attorney General is requested to work with; and

     (6)  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 concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 99, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 99, H.D. 1.

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

____________________________

GILBERT KEITH-AGARAN, Chair