STAND. COM. REP. NO. 218-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: H.B. No. 1777

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1777 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require and appropriate funds for the Department of the Attorney General to provide annual reports to the Legislature on specified data pertaining to the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women, Hawaii Youth Services Network, The Sex Abuse Treatment Center, and four individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance, Department of Human Services, and Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that children, particularly foster, runaway, LGBTQ+, immigrant, and undocumented children and children suffering from mental illnesses and substance abuse issues, are vulnerable to sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. This measure will help assess the scope of the problem and improve the State's response.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the report must contain available data, rather than specific data, from entities that collect and are willing to provide data pertaining to the commercial sexual exploitation of children to the Department of the Attorney General;

(2) Clarifying that entities are encouraged but not required to collect specific data for the report; and

(3) 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 Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1777, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1777, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

MARK M. NAKASHIMA, Chair