CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO.66

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: H.B. No. 236

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

C.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 236, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SEXUAL ASSAULT,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of the bill is to:

(1) Criminalize sexual penetration and sexual contact with a minor who is age 14, if the actor is 19 years or older and not married to the minor;

(2) Remove the knowing state of mind for conduct of sexual penetration and sexual contact;

(3) Require the prosecuting attorney of each county to maintain a record of all cases received and prosecuted as sexual assault in the first degree and third degree during an eighteen-month period; and

(4) Require the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) to review the effectiveness and impact of this Act, based on the data provided by the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, and report its findings to the Legislature.

Your Committee on Conference finds that, in 1996, the Hawaii Supreme Court held that the "legislative history (of these sections) unequivocally indicates that, where the age of the victim is an element of a sexual offense, the specified state of mind is not intended to apply to that element." (State v. Buch, 83 Haw. 308, 1996). The term "knowing" relates to the act of sexual contact or penetration, not to the knowledge of the child's age. Therefore, your Committee on Conference has amended the bill by reinserting the required "knowing" state of mind.

Based on testimony and discussions among professionals involved in a variety of aspects of this area, your Committee on Conference is aware of the disparate views involving this sensitive subject and, therefore, finds that a comprehensive study on the issues dealing with the age of consent must be conducted so that the Legislature can better address these issues during future legislative sessions. Therefore, your Committee on Conference has amended this bill by expanding the review of the impact of this bill by requiring the Attorney General, with the aid of the Coalition for the Prevention of Sex Assault, to convene a task force to conduct a comprehensive review.

Your Committee on Conference has further amended this bill by:

(1) Requiring for the offense of sexual assault in the first degree and the third degree that:

(a) The minor be at least 14 years old but less than 16 years old; and

(b) The defendant be at least 5 years older than the minor and not married to the minor;

(2) Making the language gender neutral; and

(3) Making other technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity and style.

 

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 236, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 236, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

____________________________

DAVID M. MATSUURA, Chair

____________________________

ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair

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BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair