STAND. COM. REP. NO.  687

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

 

RE:   H.B. No. 730

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 730 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRUELTY TO ANIMALS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to help prevent cruelty to animals by replacing the current statute regarding dog fighting with more comprehensive language and mandating a minimum thirty-day imprisonment term for a second or subsequent offense.

 

     The Humane Society of the United States in Hawaii, Hawaiian Humane Society, and many concerned individuals supported this bill.  The Public Defender's Office opposed this measure.

 

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by, among other things:

 

     (1)  Amending, rather than replacing, the current statute to:

 

          (A)  Criminalize the transporting, possessing, breeding,            selling, transferring, or equipping of any dog for             prohibited fighting purposes as a class C felony;

 

          (B)  Make it a class C felony to allow a dogfight to                     occur, or to keep, board, house, train, or                     transport a dog intended for fighting on any                   property;

 

          (C)  Specify that paying admission to, or wagering on a             dogfight, or possessing any device intended to                 enhance a dog's fighting ability is a misdemeanor;           and

 

          (D)  Allow the legality of dog weight-pulling contests;

              

          and

 

     (2)  Changing the effective date to January 1, 2046, to             encourage further discussion.

 

     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. 730, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 730, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 

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

 

 

 

 

____________________________

JON RIKI KARAMATSU, Chair