STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2043

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2426
                                        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 S.B. No.
2426 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRIME VICTIM COMPENSATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Crime Victim
Compensation Commission to pay for mental health counseling for
the relatives of a deceased victim, witnesses, or other
individuals present at the scene of a mass casualty.

     Your Committee finds that federal funding is available to
state crime victim compensation programs to provide mental health
counseling for victims of mass violence, including relatives of
the dead, witnesses, and others present at the scene.  Hawaii was
offered such funding after the November 1999 shooting incident at
Xerox Corporation, but was unable to accept it because the Crime
Victim Compensation Commission has no statutory authority to pay
for such counseling.  Your Committee believes that the Crime
Victim Compensation Commission should have the authority to
provide compensation for counseling to persons affected by
incidents of mass violence, although priority in compensation
should be given to actual victims of crime.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Crime Victim Compensation Commission, the Department of Health,
the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County
of Honolulu, and the American Red Cross.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2043
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     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by:

     (1)  Specifying that compensation of crime victims takes
          priority over compensation for mental health counseling
          of relatives of crime victims, witnesses, and others
          present at mass casualty incidents; and

     (2)  Making technical, non-substantive changes for the
          purposes of clarity and style.

     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 S.B. No.
2426, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2426, 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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