Bill Text: HI HCR6 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Concurrent Resolution 6 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Statutory Revision; Replacement of Terms

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-29 - (H) Referred to JUD, LMG, referral sheet 11 [HCR6 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-HCR6-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	6
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the legislative reference bureau to conduct a study regarding the technical feasibility and legal implications of replacing references to prostitution in the hawaii revised statutes WITH THE TERM commercial sexual exploitation.

WHEREAS, there have been laws against prostitution as long or longer than prostitution has been the "world's oldest profession"; and

WHEREAS, prostitution here and elsewhere has long been perceived as conduct that amounts to an affront against community morals by individuals acting for personal profit; and

WHEREAS, prostitution is increasingly understood to be the organized criminal sexual exploitation of its victims, typically women and children; and

WHEREAS, other jurisdictions are moving toward aligning their statutory language with the evolving understanding of prostitution as commercial sexual exploitation; and

WHEREAS, replacing references to prostitution in the Hawaii Revised Statutes, with references to commercial sexual exploitation may have unintended consequences involving inconsistent cross-references or conflicts with existing case law; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the Senate concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to conduct a study of the technical feasibility of replacing references in the Hawaii Revised Statutes with the term commercial sexual exploitation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to:

(1) Conduct research to determine what other jurisdictions have changed references to prostitution to commercial sexual exploitation or similar language;

(2) Examine whether, if the Legislature determines as a matter of policy that the Hawaii Revised Statutes should refer to commercial sexual exploitation instead of prostitution, that goal can be achieved with a global replacement of terms or would require, because of inconsistent cross-references, improper sentence syntax, or other reasons, a section by section amendment of the Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

(3) Examine what effect, if any, a change in terminology would have on the continued viability of case law construing prior versions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes would have; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to submit its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2011; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.