STAND. COM. REP. NO. 52

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 222

S.D. 1

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 S.B. No. 222 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu for the Career Criminal Prosecution Unit.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Hawai‘i, Retail Merchants of Hawaii, and one individual. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that a disproportionate number of serious crimes against the public are committed by a relatively small number of multiple and repeat-felony offenders, commonly known as "career criminals". Your Committee further finds that by their nature, career criminal prosecution cases are often labor intensive and require experienced and well-trained deputy prosecutors. This measure appropriates funds to staff the Career Criminal Prosecution Unit so that the prosecution of career criminals can be more effectively pursued.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the appropriation to a grant-in-aid; and

(2) Inserting an effective date of January 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion.

Your Committee notes that the Senate Draft 1 of this measure contains an unspecified appropriation amount. Should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committee respectfully requests that it considers inserting an appropriation amount of $708,806.

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 S.B. No. 222, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 222, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair