STAND. COM. REP. NO. 366

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 938

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Human Services and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 938 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FAILURE TO REPORT A MISSING CHILD,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish penalties for caregivers who fail to report the death or disappearance of a child to law enforcement or who provide false information to law enforcement authorities.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Honolulu Police Department, Hawaii Police Department, Kauai Police Department, Hawaii Catholic Conference, Hawaii Family Forum, and Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

     Your Committee finds that time is of the essence in the initial search for a missing child and the beginning of an investigation of the death of a child.  Your Committee further finds that caregivers should be held accountable to report truthful information to law enforcement immediately, yet current state law does not address the situation where a parent, legal guardian, or other person legally charged with the care or custody of a child fails to report the death or disappearance of a child or actively conceals a child's death or disappearance.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting a savings clause; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 938, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 938, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services and Housing,

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair