REPORT TITLE:
Sex Offender Records


DESCRIPTION:
Requires the sharing of all relevant criminal, medical,
psychological, or mental health records of sex offenders. (SB588
HD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        588
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO SEX OFFENDERS.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that there are at least
 
 2 five agencies that deal with criminal sex offenders, including:
 
 3      (1)  The department of public safety;
 
 4      (2)  The department of human services;
 
 5      (3)  The department of health;
 
 6      (4)  The judiciary; and
 
 7      (5)  The Hawaii paroling authority.
 
 8 As sex offenders often enter multiple treatment, monitoring, and
 
 9 punishment programs, it is in the best interests of all involved
 
10 that these agencies share offender treatment and psychiatric
 
11 records.   Allowing agencies to confidentially share offender
 
12 treatment and psychiatric records would:
 
13      (1)  Help each agency keep better track of an individual
 
14           offender;
 
15      (2)  Provide a measure of extra safety for all affected
 
16           agency employees, such as, social workers, parole
 
17           officers, and treatment providers; and
 
18      (3)  Enhance public protection.
 
19      The purpose of this Act is to include as an interagency
 
20 requirement the sharing of all relevant criminal, medical,
 

 
Page 2                                                     588
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 1 psychological, or mental health records of criminal offenders
 
 2 that would usually be considered confidential.
 
 3      SECTION 2.  Section 353E-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 4 amended to read as follows:
 
 5      "[[]�353E-2[]]  Interagency coordination.(a)  To carry out
 
 6 their responsibilities under section 353E-1, the department of
 
 7 public safety, Hawaii paroling authority, judiciary, department
 
 8 of health, department of human services, and any other agency
 
 9 assigned sex offender oversight responsibilities by law or
 
10 administrative order, shall establish, by an interagency
 
11 cooperative agreement, a coordinating body to oversee the
 
12 development and implementation of sex offender treatment programs
 
13 in the State to ensure compliance with the intent of the master
 
14 plan developed under section 353E-1(1).  The interagency
 
15 cooperative agreement shall set forth the role of the
 
16 coordinating body and the responsibilities of each agency that is
 
17 a party to the agreement.
 
18      (b)  The department of public safety shall be the lead
 
19 agency for the statewide sex offender treatment program.  As the
 
20 lead agency, the department shall act as facilitator of the
 
21 coordinating body by providing administrative support to the
 
22 coordinating body.
 

 
 
 
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                                                        H.D. 1
                                                        

 
 1      (c)  Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary,
 
 2 for purposes of sex offender treatment and community supervision,
 
 3 any agency that is part of the interagency cooperative agreement
 
 4 shall provide, upon the request of any other participating
 
 5 agency, all relevant criminal, parole, medical, psychological, or
 
 6 mental health records of any offender receiving supervision or
 
 7 treatment while under custody of the State.  Records received by
 
 8 a participating agency under this section shall be confidential
 
 9 and shall be disclosed by the receiving agency only for the
 
10 purposes and under the circumstances expressly authorized by this
 
11 section.  Any agency providing records under this section shall
 
12 document the disclosures made under this section, including the
 
13 name of the agency to which the record is disclosed, the title of
 
14 the record disclosed, and the date of disclosure."
 
15      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
16 New statutory material is underscored.
 
17      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.