STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1610

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1344

H.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1344, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ANGER MANAGEMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require certain criminal offenders to be ordered by a court to complete an assessment and either a domestic violence intervention or anger management course as part of their sentence.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Public Defender, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, Domestic Violence Action Center, Hawai‘i State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Parents and Children Together, and five individuals.

Your Committee finds that existing law is indiscriminate and mandates that all offenders convicted of violating a temporary restraining order or protective order, and all offenders receiving a deferral on an abuse of a family or household member charge, be ordered into domestic violence intervention, regardless of the status of the relationship with the victim in the case. This means that offenders in non-intimate relationships with the victim must go through domestic violence intervention. For individuals who are not in intimate relationships with the victims in their cases, the domestic violence intervention curriculum can be challenging to relate to. This measure will allow offenders in non-intimate relationships with their victims to be diverted to anger management courses, which will provide more appropriate services to those offenders.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1344, H.D. 2, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair