STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2452

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2094

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Technology and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2094 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COMPUTER DAMAGE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Redefine the offense of computer damage in the first degree as intentionally causing or attempting to cause damage to a critical infrastructure computer;

     (2)  Increase the grade of the offense of computer damage in the first degree to a class A felony;

     (3)  Redefine the offense of computer damage in the second degree as knowingly causing the transmission of a program, information, code, or command, and thereby knowingly causing other damage; or intentionally accessing a computer, computer system, or computer network without authorization, and thereby knowingly causing damage;

     (4)  Increase the grade of the offense of computer damage in the second degree to a class B felony;

     (5)  Create a new offense of computer damage in the third degree as knowingly accessing a computer, computer system, or computer network without authorization and recklessly causing damage;

     (6)  Establish the offense of computer damage in the third degree as a class C felony; and

     (7)  Define "critical infrastructure computer".

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, and Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Kauai.

     Your Committee finds that existing law only applies when a perpetrator uses one computer to damage another computer, such as by hacking or transmitting a computer virus.  However, greater protections are needed for critical infrastructure computers, as damage to these computers jeopardize public health, safety, and security, regardless of how the damage occurs.  This measure is necessary to provide further protection by creating a new offense of damage to critical infrastructure computers and redefining the current offenses of computer damage in the first and second degree accordingly.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Technology and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2094, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2094, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Technology and the Arts,

____________________________

GLENN WAKAI, Chair