STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2859

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 2653
                                        H.D. 2
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No.
2653, H.D. 2, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE JUDICIARY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to authorize the waiver of
filing fees when victims of crime seek civil enforcement of
court-ordered restitution.

     Your Committee finds that this measure is needed to remove
unintended barriers toward a crime victim's recovery of
restitution.  With the passage of Act 269, Session Laws of Hawaii
1998, crime victims were provided with an enhanced means of
recovering restitution awarded in criminal cases by permitting
them to use civil enforcement proceedings to collect the
restitution.  The primary objective of Act 269 was to facilitate
the recovery of restitution for victims and to restore them
without the burden of additional court proceedings and costs.
Your Committee further finds that with the implementation of Act
269, courts were obligated under a separate statute to impose a
mandatory $225.00 filing fee upon the victims when they sought
civil enforcement of court-ordered restitution.  Your Committee
believes that by waiving the mandatory filing fees, crime victims
will be further empowered in their struggle to achieve financial
recuperation from their victimization.


 
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                                   Page 2


     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Judiciary and the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the
City and County of Honolulu.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
bill by amending subsection (3) of section 706-647, Hawaii
Revised Statutes, instead of subsection (1), to clarify the
intended exemption.

     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.
2653, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2653, 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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