Hawaii-2023-HR102-Introduced

WHEREAS, the State requires sex offenders and offenders against minors, as defined in section 846E-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to register with the Attorney General whenever the offender remains in the State for more than ten days or an aggregate period exceeding thirty days in one calendar year; and

WHEREAS, the State maintains separate registries for sex offenders and offenders against minors whenever the offender's public information is made publicly accessible; and

WHEREAS, public information under chapter 846E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, means the offender's names; year of birth; physical description; actual address; street name and zip code of employment or description of the place of work; professional licenses; names and addresses of educational institutions with which the offender is affiliated; vehicle description; a statement of covered offenses; judgment of conviction, acquittal, or judicial determination of unfitness to proceed; the provision of law defining the criminal offense for which the offender is registered; and a recent photograph; and

WHEREAS, to facilitate community notification, after a covered offender registers or updates a registration, the Attorney General may provide public information in the registry about that offender to any organization, company, or individual who requests such notification pursuant to procedures established by the Attorney General; and

WHEREAS, state law also requires the Attorney General to provide public access to a covered offender's public information; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Human Services is also required to maintain a central registry of reported child abuse or neglect cases and is authorized to conduct criminal history record checks pursuant to section 846-2.7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, sex offender registry checks, child abuse record checks, and adult abuse perpetrator checks as part of its background check process; and

WHEREAS, West Virginia established a domestic violence registry in 2009 as a tool to communicate domestic violence protective orders to law enforcement, while Indiana has created and implemented a statewide Protection Order Registry which makes judicial orders available to local, state, and national law enforcement agencies at no cost; and

WHEREAS, Kansas maintains a website established by its Bureau of Investigation to facilitate public access to information about persons who have been convicted of certain sex, violent, and drug offenses, as set forth in the Kansas Offender Registration Act; this information is made available to the public and law enforcement in the interest of public safety; and

WHEREAS, in 2013, the Texas House of Representatives was the first in the country to pass a bill to create a domestic violence offender registry, with the intent to bring an additional layer of vigilance to the state; and

WHEREAS, State Senators in New York have been pursuing similar legislation, called "Brittany's Law" to define domestic violence offenses and offenders and require offenders to register with the Division of Criminal Justice Services; and

WHEREAS, this body finds that, in the interest of public health and safety, a registry database of domestic violence offenders that can be accessed by the public and used in ways similar to the existing sex offender registry, may be helpful to communities; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Department of the Attorney General is requested to conduct a study evaluating the feasibility of creating a domestic violence registry that would be used similarly to the sex offender registry; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this study is requested to:

(1) Encompass those domestic violence offenses deemed appropriate by the Department of the Attorney General;

(2) Evaluate whether a registry modeled after chapter 846E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, or another system, is feasible;

(3) Consider any legal or constitutional obstacles to the establishment and maintenance of a domestic violence registry; and

(4) Consider the logistics, cost implications, enforcement mechanisms, and utility of a domestic violence registry, and any other issues deemed relevant by the Department; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2024; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Domestic Violence; Registry; Feasibility Study; Department of the Attorney General

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	102
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII