STAND. COM. REP. NO. 774

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 1709

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1709 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROPERTY DAMAGE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to curb property crime by:

(1) Creating the offense of aggravated criminal property damage; and

(2) Making the commission of a third criminal property damage offense a class C felony if the person has been convicted of criminal property damage in the third or fourth degree two or more times in the five years preceding the third offense.

The Department of Transportation, Honolulu Police Department, and Hawaii Association of Realtors testified in support of this bill. The Office of the Public Defender testified in opposition to this measure.

Criminal property damage, in the form of graffiti, is costly to taxpayers, as well as individual property owners. Each year the State, counties, and private landowners spend thousands of dollars and countless man-hours to deal with the problem of graffiti. Your Committee finds that graffiti detracts from the beauty of Hawaii, is a blight on and negative reflection of Hawaii's communities, and is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.

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. 1709 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

 

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair