CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 88

                            Honolulu, Hawaii
                                            , 1999

                            RE:   H.B. No. 1496
                                  H.D. 1
                                  S.D. 1
                                  C.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
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. 1496, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

    "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DEADLY OR DANGEROUS WEAPONS,"

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.

    Your Committee on Conference finds that particular attention
needs to be given to butterfly knives by setting them apart from
other deadly or dangerous weapons.  In particular, the
prohibitions against butterfly knives should be similar to that
of switchblade knives.

    A review of the case In re: John Doe, born August 3, 1977, 73
Haw. 89 (1992), indicates that the Hawaii Supreme Court has held
that a butterfly knife does not have a blade that opens
automatically by operation of inertia, gravity, or both;
therefore, it is not a switchblade knife under Section 134-52,
Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS).

 
 
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    Upon close inspection of the switchblade prohibitions of
section 134-52, HRS, your Committee on Conference finds that
inclusion of butterfly knives into section 134-52, HRS, is
hampered by the definition of switchblade knives contained within
section 134-52, HRS, which inadequately describes butterfly
knives.  The prohibitions against butterfly knives contained
within section 134-51, HRS, do not define butterfly knives.

    Your Committee on Conference has amended this bill by:

    1.   Creating prohibitions against butterfly knives that are
         similar to those against switchblade knives, including:

         a.   Making it a misdemeanor offense for the knowing
              manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, or
              transport of a butterfly knife; and

         b.   Making it a class C felony for the knowing or
              intentional use or threatened use of a butterfly
              knife while engaged in the commission of a crime; 

    2.   Defining butterfly knife as a knife having a blade
         encased in a split handle that manually unfolds with
         hand or wrist action with the assistance of inertia,
         gravity or both; and

    3.   Making a technical nonsubstantive revision to conform to
         drafting style.

    Your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and
purpose of H.B. No. 1496, 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. 1496, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, C.D. 1.

                                   Respectfully submitted,

MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE        MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE
           SENATE                              HOUSE
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
AVERY CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair           PAUL T. OSHIRO, Chair
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair     ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Member

 
                            CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 88
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______________________________     ______________________________
JOE TANAKA, Member                 SOL P. KAHO`OHALAHALA, Member
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
WHITNEY ANDERSON, Member           MARILYN B. LEE, Member
                                   
                                   
                                   
                                   ______________________________
                                   PAUL WHALEN, Member