REPORT TITLE:
Minors, Harmful Materials


DESCRIPTION:
Criminalizes the offenses of promoting material harmful to minors
and promoting material harmful to minors via computers.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2246
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO MINORS.
 


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

 1      SECTION 1.  Chapter 712, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 2 by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to
 
 3 read as follows:
 
 4      "§712-     Promoting material harmful to minors via
 
 5 computer.  (1)  A public school that provides a public access
 
 6 computer shall:
 
 7      (a)  Equip the computer with software designed to prevent
 
 8           minors from gaining access to material that is harmful
 
 9           to minors; or
 
10      (b)  Purchase internet connectivity from an internet service
 
11           provider that provides filter services to limit access
 
12           to material that is harmful to minors.
 
13      (2)  A public library that provides a public access computer
 
14 shall do one or both of the following:
 
15      (a)  Equip the computer with software that will limit
 
16           minors' ability to gain access to material that is
 
17           harmful to minors; or
 
18      (b)  Purchase internet connectivity from an internet service
 

 
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 1           provider that provides filter services to limit access
 
 2           to material that is harmful to minors.
 
 3 All public schools shall develop and implement by January 1,
 
 4 2001, a policy that establishes measures to restrict minors from
 
 5 gaining computer access to material that is harmful to minors.
 
 6      The department of education shall establish rules for the
 
 7 implementation of this section.
 
 8      (3)  All personnel in a public school that complies with
 
 9 subsection (1) and a public library that complies with subsection
 
10 (2) shall be immune from criminal liability or liability for any
 
11 damages that might arise from a minor gaining access to material
 
12 that is harmful to minors through the use of a public access
 
13 computer that is owned or controlled by the public school or
 
14 public library.
 
15      (4)  Promoting harmful materials to minors is a class C
 
16 felony.
 
17      §712-     Promoting material harmful to minors, defined.  In
 
18 this part, unless the context otherwise requires:
 
19      "Harmful to minors" means that quality of any description or
 
20 representation, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual activity,
 
21 sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse, when
 
22 both:
 

 
 
 
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                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        


 1      (a)  To the average adult applying contemporary state
 
 2           standards with respect to what is suitable for minors,
 
 3           it both:
 
 4           (i)  Appeals to the prurient interest, when taken as a
 
 5                whole.  In order for an item as a whole to be
 
 6                found or intended to have an appeal to the
 
 7                prurient interest, it is not necessary that the
 
 8                item be successful in arousing or exciting any
 
 9                particular form of prurient interest either in the
 
10                hypothetical average person, in a member of its
 
11                intended and probable recipient group or in the
 
12                trier of fact; and
 
13          (ii)  Portrays the description or representation in a
 
14                patently offensive way; and
 
15      (b)  Taken as a whole does not have serious literary,
 
16           artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
 
17      "Public access computer" means a computer that:
 
18      (a)  Is located in a public school or public library;
 
19      (b)  Is frequently or regularly used directly by a minor;
 
20           and
 
21      (c)  Is connected to any computer communication system."
 
22      SECTION 2.  Section 712-1215, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 

 
 
 
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                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        


 1 amended to read as follows:
 
 2      "§712-1215  Promoting [pornography for] material harmful to
 
 3 minors.(1)  A person commits the offense of promoting
 
 4 [pornography for] material harmful to minors if:
 
 5      (a)  Knowing its character and content, the person
 
 6           disseminates to a minor material which is [pornographic
 
 7           for] harmful to minors; or
 
 8      (b)  Knowing the character and content of a motion picture
 
 9           film or other performance which, in whole or in part,
 
10           is [pornographic for] harmful to minors, the person:
 
11           (i)  Exhibits such motion picture film or other
 
12                performance to a minor; or
 
13          (ii)  Sells to a minor an admission ticket or pass to
 
14                premises where there is exhibited or to be
 
15                exhibited such motion picture film or other
 
16                performance; or
 
17         (iii)  Admits a minor to premises where there is
 
18                exhibited or to be exhibited such motion picture
 
19                film or other performance.
 
20      (2)  Subsection (1) does not apply to a parent, guardian, or
 
21 other person in loco parentis to the minor, or to a sibling of
 
22 the minor[, or to a person who commits any act specified therein
 

 
 
 
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 1 in the person's capacity as a member of the staff of any public
 
 2 library].
 
 3      (3)  Promoting [pornography for] material harmful to minors
 
 4 is a class C felony."
 
 5      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 6 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 7      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 8 
 
 9                           INTRODUCED BY:_________________________