STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1086

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 1460
                                        H.D. 2
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No.
1460, H.D. 2, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE EXPANSION
     OF THE VIDEO ARRAIGNMENT AND CONFERENCING SYSTEM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to expand
the video arraignment and conferencing system between
correctional facilities and the court system.

     Your Committee finds that since 1993, video conferencing
technology has allowed defendants housed at the Oahu Community
Correctional Center to participate in video arraignments.  This
program has been expanded in subsequent years to include motion
hearings and pre-sentence public defender/client interviews.
Your Committee further finds that in 1997, the First Circuit
Court arraigned 1,907 or approximately 96 percent of its custody
defendants by video conferencing technology.  This translates
into at least a $45,000 per year savings for the Department of
Public Safety as a result of reduced transportation and overtime
costs.  In addition, your Committee notes that the Department of
Public Safety has identified this bill as one that is needed in
order to implement the Department's action plan, as reported to
this Committee on March 10, 1999.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1086
                                   Page 2


     Your Committee believes that expanding this program to
include Halawa Correctional Facility and the Hilo circuit court
of the Third Circuit will produce similar savings and benefits.
Additionally, your Committee notes that the general revenue
appropriation of $70,867 to the Judiciary is a state match which
will be used to receive an additional $212,602 from the federal
Byrne grant program.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Judiciary, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of the
Attorney General, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of
the City and County of Honolulu, the Office of the Prosecuting
Attorney of the County of Hawaii, and the Office of the Public
Defender.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by:

     (1)  Restoring the appropriation amount of $70,867 which was
          originally requested by the Department of Public
          Safety; and

     (2)  Deleting the provision that requires that any
          unexpected or unencumbered funds shall return to the
          general funds in accordance with section 40-66, Hawaii
          Revised Statutes.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
1460, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1460, H.D.
2, 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,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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