STAND. COM. REP. NO 427

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 384

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 384 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ADDRESS CONFIDENTIALITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Establish the address confidentiality program to help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault to relocate and keep their addresses confidential; and

     (2)  Create the address confidentiality program surcharge fund.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Crime Victim Compensation Commission, Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, PHOCUSED, Domestic Violence Action Center, The Sex Abuse Treatment Center, Women's Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, American Association of University Women of Hawaii, Hawaii Women's Coalition, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, and six individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Accounting and General Services and Department of Budget and Finance.

     Your Committee finds that address confidentiality programs are necessary in light of modern technology that makes information easily accessible through the Internet and in public records.  According to the written testimony submitted by the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, thirty-six states have enacted and implemented address confidentiality programs.  This measure helps to keep victims of domestic violence and sexual assault safe by protecting their actual addresses while providing a substitute address to enable them to be legally served, receive child support payments, register to vote, and apply for a driver's license.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting language requiring that an applicant provide any documentation from a religious, medical, or other professional from whom the applicant has sought assistance in dealing with the alleged domestic violence, sexual offense, or stalking from the types of evidence an applicant may include in the application;

     (2)  Inserting an effective date of January 7, 2059, to encourage further discussion; and

     (3)  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 Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 384, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 384, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

____________________________

GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair