STAND. COM. REP. NO. 525-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 1818

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Consumer Protection and Commerce and Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1818 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE LANDLORD TENANT CODE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to amend the Residential Landlord Tenant Code to prohibit tenants and their guests from possessing, manufacturing, selling, or distributing drugs or drug paraphernalia in violation of the Penal Code or the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. The bill specifically:

(1) Includes as a "tenant," persons that are permitted by the tenant to use or occupy a dwelling;

(2) Amends the tenant dwelling maintenance provisions to prohibit tenants from possessing, manufacturing, selling, or distributing illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia;

(3) Allows the landlord to immediately terminate the rental agreement and initiate eviction proceedings upon written notice to the tenant of the tenant's noncompliance with the drug or paraphernalia prohibition; and

(4) In eviction proceedings, allows the landlord to submit as prima facie evidence of the tenant's noncompliance, any state, county, or federal law enforcement officer or agency notice or report concerning acts in violation of the drug or paraphernalia prohibition.

Your Committees heard testimony in support of this bill from the Hawaii Association of Realtors and the Department of the Attorney General. Testimony in support of the intent of the bill, was received from Kamehameha Schools, Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii, and a retired law school professor.

Of particular concern to those testifying was the amendment broadening the definition of "tenant," and the language designating "any notice or report" by law enforcement as prima facie evidence of a tenant's noncompliance with proper dwelling use requirements.

To effect the purpose of the bill with less risk of unintended consequences, your Committees:

(1) Removed amendments:

(A) To the definition of "tenant";

(B) To the tenant dwelling maintenance provisions;

(C) Allowing the landlord to use law enforcement notices or reports in eviction proceedings;

(2) Amended the provisions on a tenant's proper use of the dwelling to prohibit the tenant from unlawfully possessing dangerous, detrimental, or harmful drugs prohibited under the Penal Code;

(3) Also added a prohibition against permitting guests and visitors to possess prohibited drugs; and

(4) Permitted the landlord to immediately bring a summary possession action for violation of the drug prohibition.

Using this approach, possession was made the sole criteria of a violation. Manufacturing, selling, or distributing all involve possession, and unlike the Penal Code, where different penalties may apply depending on the mode of possession, in this bill there is no need to distinguish between possession, manufacturing, selling, and distributing. The consequence, eviction, is the same in any case.

Your Committees also felt it unnecessary to adopt special rules of evidence. There was no serious argument that the normal application of the Hawaii Rules of Evidence was insufficient to resolve this particular subset of landlord-tenant disputes.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Consumer Protection and Commerce and Judiciary that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1818, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1818, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Consumer Protection and Commerce and Judiciary,

 

____________________________

ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair

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KENNETH T. HIRAKI, Chair