STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2189

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.C.R. No. 175

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 175, H.D. 2, entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO MAINTAIN A DATABASE ON SEX TRAFFICKING OFFENSES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Department of the Attorney General to maintain a database on sex trafficking offenses.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women, LGBT Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, O‘ahu County Democrats Legislative Priorities Committee, and two individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General and Harm Reduction Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that, at the present time, there is neither a method for statewide data collection nor a clear mandate for the collection, reporting, and analysis of important metrics of sex trafficking. Your Committee further finds that the State's criminal justice-service provider alliance struggles to meet the needs of domestic sex trafficking victims. Your Committee additionally finds that although Child Welfare Services has received one hundred forty reports of child sex trafficking since 2017, this data was not made publicly available until the State Commission on the Status of Women's January 2019 report Sex Trafficking in Hawai‘i: the Stories of Survivors. Your Committee also finds that a central database is necessary to improve the State's sex trafficking prevention efforts by establishing systemic collection and retrieval processes necessary for policy guidance, training, legislative reporting, and response and prevention programs.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requesting the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women to maintain a database on sex trafficking offenses instead of the Department of the Attorney General;

(2) Requesting that data relating to offenses under section 712-1200(1)(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, be included in the database;

(3) Making a conforming amendment to the title; and

(4) 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 that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 175, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 175, H.D. 2, S.D. 1.

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

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair