STAND. COM. REP. NO. 231

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2021

RE: H.B. No. 722

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 722 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Establish a statewide coordinator and program within the Department of the Attorney General to address the needs of victims of human trafficking;

(2) Require the Department of the Attorney General to provide reports to the Legislature on the State's efforts to address human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children; and

(3) Require the Children's Justice Program to coordinate the investigation and case management of child human trafficking cases, including cases involving the sexual exploitation of children.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Judiciary, Department of the Attorney General, Office of the Public Defender, Harm Reduction Hawaii, Imua Alliance, and four individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services.

Your Committee finds that over the past decade, the Department of Human Services has received an increasing number of calls on its hotline from witnesses or victims of child sex trafficking. Your Committee further finds that due to the covert nature of child sex trafficking, it is difficult to accurately measure the scope of the problem in the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Removing the statewide coordinator position;

(2) Requiring an annual report to the Legislature by the Department of the Attorney General on the State's efforts to address human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children;

(3) Clarifying the definition of "human trafficking";

(4) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2060, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 722, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 722, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness,

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair