Report Title:

Violence Against Health Care Workers

Description:

Adds violence against health care professionals to the offenses of assault in the second degree and terroristic threatening in the first degree Defective effective date included (HB706 HD1).

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

706

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 707-711, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:

(1) A person commits the offense of assault in the second degree if:

(a) The person intentionally or knowingly causes substantial bodily injury to another;

(b) The person recklessly causes serious bodily injury to another [person];

(c) The person intentionally or knowingly causes bodily injury to a correctional worker, as defined in section 710-1031(2), who is engaged in the performance of duty or who is within a correctional facility;

(d) The person intentionally or knowingly causes bodily injury to another [person] with a dangerous instrument; [or]

(e) The person intentionally or knowingly causes bodily injury to an educational worker who is engaged in the performance of duty or who is within an educational facility. For the purposes of this [section,] subsection, "educational worker" means [any]:

(i) Any administrator, specialist, counselor, teacher, or employee of the department of education[, or a];

(ii) A person who is a volunteer, as defined by section 90-1, in a school program, activity, or function that is established, sanctioned, or approved by the department of education [or a]; or

(iii) A person hired by the department of education on a contractual basis and engaged in carrying out an educational function[.];

or

(f) The person intentionally or knowingly causes bodily injury to a health care professional who is engaged in the performance of duty or who is within a mental health facility for involuntary hospitalization. For the purposes of this subsection, "health care professional" shall have the same meaning as in section 451D-2, and includes:

(i) A health care professional's employees, agents, and volunteers; and

(ii) An employee, agent, or volunteer of any program, institution, or agency, whether public or private and whether for profit or nonprofit, that is used, operated, or designed to provide medical diagnosis, treatment, nursing, social services, or rehabilitative or preventive care to any person."

SECTION 2. Section 707-716, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:

"(1) A person commits the offense of terroristic threatening in the first degree if the person commits terroristic threatening:

(a) By threatening another person on more than one occasion for the same or a similar purpose; [or]

(b) By threats made in a common scheme against different persons; [or]

(c) Against a public servant, including but not limited to an educational worker, [who for the purposes of this section shall mean an administrator, specialist, counselor, teacher, or other employee of the department of education, or a volunteer as defined by section 90-1, in a school program, activity, or function that is established, sanctioned, or approved by the department of education, or a person hired by the department of education on a contractual basis and engaged in carrying out an educational function; or] as defined in section 707-711(1)(e);

(d) Against a health care professional, as defined in section 707-711(1)(f); or

[(d)] (e) With the use of a dangerous instrument."

SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on February 31, 2525.