STAND. COM. REP. NO. 50

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 300

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 300 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PROTECTIVE ORDERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow law enforcement agencies to quickly verify the existence of, and more easily obtain information on, long-term protective orders by establishing a Hope Card Program within the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Honolulu Police Department, Child and Family Service, Ala Kuola, and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General and Domestic Violence Action Center.

Your Committee finds that individuals who are granted long-term protective orders must carry a multiple-paged court order on their person to prove the existence of the order. This method is cumbersome and inconvenient, especially for young children. Having a wallet-sized identification card containing the essential information is a convenient, efficient, and effective method of assisting law enforcement with the verification of a long-term protective order. Your Committee also finds that other jurisdictions have implemented the use of the Hope Card as a valuable tool to protect victims of domestic abuse.

Your Committee amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting a blank appropriation amount;

(2) Inserting an effective date of May 1, 2029, 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 Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 300, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 300, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

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JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair